Alliances
by AccioVoldemortsNose
Summary: With Thanos defeated, Gwendolyn Powers is finally settling down with Steve Rogers. However, all plans are put on hold when AIM decides to make themselves known. But after Gwen becomes ill, it's not only a race to stop AIM, but a race for her life.
1. Chapter One

**Hello again, everyone!**

**First if all, if you don't know who Gwendolyn Powers is, then you might want to read "Powers" and "Energies" first.**

**Second, once again, new characters will be added to the story. I do not own them.**

**Third, I will warn you now - there will be several side plots forming that will all come together in the end. While you continue to read this story, it may seem weird to you, but I will tell you that Gwen and Steve's story is the main thing here. **

**Fourth, I own nothing you recognize.**

**Five, enjoy! (and please don't be angry with any feels you have in this chapter. Be angry at the characters instead.)**

* * *

**Chapter One**

Not once did Gwendolyn Powers think that she would be marrying a super soldier from World War II. Not to mention that he was frozen in ice for seventy years and had helped save the world several times.

But Gwen was happy with it. There was no one else that she would want to marry but Steve Rogers. And so she stood in the bedroom of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, staring at herself in the mirror. She knew that Steve was outside of this very room, probably trying not to shake from nervousness.

Gwen had spent nearly all day in this room. When she had arrived in Avengers Tower with Steve, they were separated almost instantly by Pepper who was storing the dress.

The couple had been living in Gwen's one-story home ever since they had gotten engaged. It had been Gwen's idea as Steve wasn't used to living with another person, let alone a woman. But she had finally convinced him that he could handle it and he moved out of his apartment in the tower. It took a while to get used to, but they worked well together in the end. Gwen was always there to cook the meals and he could always kill the spiders that made her scream like a baby.

The wedding plans all took place at the tower, though. Pepper, as well as Daisy Johnson, who had moved from San Francisco and into the tower, were more excited about it than Gwen was. They spent hours with her, talking all about how it should be in the tower and how beautiful it was going to be. They took her dress shopping and tried to get her to buy an expensive dress, but Gwen insisted on a plain, moderately priced dress. It was long sleeved, as not only did she fear the worst when it came to sleeveless and strapless dresses, but the late February chill helped make her decision.

It saddened Gwen as she went through all of this without her mother. Granted Gwen had accepted the fact she'd be doing this with friends, it still stung as she had always pictured her mother giving advice and crying.

This also brought up the remembrance that she no longer had a father. Therefore, Gwen was unsure of how she'd be walking down the aisle. Tony had offered to take that place as well as Bruce Banner, but she denied them as she had come up with a better idea.

Gwen was going to walk down the aisle alone.

She much preferred to believe that her father was there in spirit. She wanted no one but him to be the one to give her away. She was his little Gwen and she would always be his little Gwen.

Another barrier came when it got to bridesmaids. Gwen, of course, chosen Pepper as her Maid of Honor and Steve had chosen Tony to be his Best Man. Despite the differences Steve and Tony had, they actually had become pretty good friends during the wedding planning. Tony still teased the soldier mercilessly though.

Gwen had approached Daisy as a bridesmaid, but the young woman looked terrified of being in front of a crowd and Gwen relived her of this duty. Daisy claimed she was horribly sorry but forever grateful. And so, to actually have a bridesmaid, Gwen chose Barbara Morse. Actually, it was Barbara Barton now.

Clint and Barbara Barton had gone to the West Coast Avengers Tower boyfriend and girlfriend and came back husband and wife. They apologized for eloping and not involving anyone else, but it had been their choice.

Gwen had considered Natasha Romanoff as another bridesmaid, but the assassin had become very depressed upon Clint and Barbara's return. If anyone crossed her, or even looked at her funny, they would be on the floor in seconds. So Gwen tried to stay away from her knowing it was better than trying to make her talk. The redhead had actually become herself again during the months that Barbara was not present and Gwen assumed she'd return to that eventually.

"Gwendolyn!" came Pepper's voice from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," Gwen called back.

Pepper came inside wearing a black dress that went down to her knees. Gwen knew that Pepper wasn't a fan of incredibly fancy dresses.

"Hey, Pepper, are you in there?" asked Tony's voice.

"Can he come in?" asked Pepper.

"Yeah, sure," answered Gwen.

"Come in!"

Tony came in wearing a suit and tie, nothing unusual about it. Gwen was used to seeing him dressed up a lot. He smiled at her as he walked in and gave her a hug.

"You look beautiful," he said.

Gwen smiled. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"I feel like we've had this conversation before."

"Tony," said Pepper, "what did you to do to your tie?"

"I personalized it."

Pepper walked over to Tony to fix his tie which was crooked and oddly put together.

"It'd be easier to think if that one building wasn't so bright," he complained. "What is it, the waxter-"

"The Baxter Building, Tony," answered Pepper. "The Baxter Building."

"It's too bright. It should be illegal."

"It's just the top five floors."

"Well, I should talk to what's-his-face about it."

"His name is Reed Richards, Tony. And no, you're not talking to him."

"How do you know his name?"

"It was in the paper."

"Who reads the paper?"

"I do."

"Just wait until the Avengers Mansion is done being built. Then Daisy will stop nagging at me for the whole "A" on the Tower and letting people know this is our base."

Gwen smiled at the couple, enjoying their bickering. Once Pepper helped Tony, she tried kicking him out just as another guest came by. This time it was an old woman.

"May I speak with Gwendolyn?" asked the woman. Pepper nodded and opened the door to let the woman in. She approached Gwen with a smile.

"Hi," she continued. "My name is Peggy Carter."

"Oh!" exclaimed Gwen. "I'm glad you could make it. I know Steve was hoping you would."

Peggy smiled again. "I couldn't miss his wedding, could I? And might I say, you look lovely."

"Thank you."

Gwen had insisted that Peggy be invited to the wedding, Steve agreeing right away. Most people probably would've thought it was weird, but Gwen saw nothing wrong with her fiancé's old friend to come and see it.

Other people in attendance included Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis, both having moved from New Mexico and into Avengers Tower. Erik Selvig came as well, though he was based in the West Coast Avengers Tower. Luke Cage was coming, having become good friends with Steve due to the fact they both went under experiments that made them what they were.

Rhodey came as well, seeing as Gwen had become closer to the guy seeing as when he wasn't at the West Coast Tower, he was in the East Coast one and sometimes needed a break from the bromance between Tony and Bruce with the new addition of Hank Pym, who also was attending without his ants.

Phil Coulson was also there. Gwen made Steve personally give the SHIELD agent an invitation instead of sending it. Gwen knew that even if he was fatally shot, Phil wouldn't miss the wedding of his idol. She also made she he would get a seat in the front, endlessly amused by his fanboying.

Not in attendance was Stephen Strange who was still working on his portal/teleportation device in the city of Atlantis. Tony had tried his best to get the guy to come out seeing as he hadn't had much social contact, but the doctor was stubborn and refused to move.

Fury had declined their invitation to the wedding, much to the pleasure of Gwen and Steve. He had said something along the lines of he didn't have time for pointless celebrations when there is danger in the world. It wasn't like he was missed. Agent Maria Hill also declined, but in a much nicer way than Fury.

Gwen and Steve hadn't bothered to invite Eros of Titan, knowing very well he belonged on his own planet. Besides, they knew he'd only come to flirt with all females.

Although they invited the Asgardians, none of them could attend. This included Thor, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and even Loki, much to Steve's dislike. Gwen hadn't seen Loki since the defeat of Thanos, but had actually seen Sif and the Warriors Three very often. One of the four would come to Earth once a week to check up on things, seeing as the Bifrost was now completely rebuilt and operational. The gatekeeper, whose name Gwen learned was Heimdall, changed what she liked to refer to as the "landing spot" from Puente Antiguo to an abandoned area in New York.

Once Gwen was all ready, Pepper led her out of the room and into the penthouse. There was a tapestry that separated the area in front of the area from where the wedding was taking place. Pepper and Tony both smiled before they followed Barbara and Clint.

A quarter of musicians started playing, the first violinist the loudest of them all. Gwen's heart was pounding as she stepped out from behind the tapestry. Everyone was standing and watching her as she walked forward. Her eyes traveled over the guests and decorations, Pepper, Barbara, Tony and Clint. And lastly, her eyes fell on Steve.

His blonde hair was the same as always, styled like he was back in the 1940s. But he was wearing a tux with a black tie and white button down shirt underneath. He had a white flower attached to the pocket on his chest. His hands were clasped together in front of him. He was looking down at his loafers, but looked up once Tony nudged him in the ribs.

Steve looked up and his blue eyes locked onto Gwen's green ones. His eyes widened for a second, his lips slightly parted as though his mind went blank. Then a large smile broke out across his face. Gwen returned it.

Before she knew it, Gwen was at what was considered the alter, but seeing as they weren't actually in a church, it was just a pastor and a bible.

Gwen handed her bouquet to Pepper who gave her a wink and then turned back to Steve.

"You look beautiful," he whispered.

"You look handsome," she answered, earning a even bigger smile.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Steven Grant Rogers and Gwendolyn Sharon Powers..."

Gwen tuned out of what the pastor said. All she knew was that she was in the process of marrying Steve and that was all that mattered. She could've sworn Pepper sniffed behind her as if she was crying, but Gwen didn't have the opportunity to turn around to see. A couple times Tony made weird faces at her and she tried her best not to laugh.

Before she knew it, her and Steve were exchanging vows and rings.

"I know pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Steve didn't need to be told twice. He quickly wrapped his arms around Gwen's waist and pulled her close. She responded by linking her arms around his neck. Their lips crushed together, earning cheers and cat-whistles from the guests. By the time the two parted, they were breathless and smiling like idiots.

Steve put out his arm and Gwen took it, linking it with hers. He led her through the applauding crowd, making their way for the elevator where JARVIS would take them to where the reception was being held. But when the door opened, it revealed none other than Nick Fury.

"Fury?" asked Steve, his eyes just as wide as Gwen's.

Gwen felt incredibly fustrated. She knew that Fury would only show up for one of two reasons. One, he actually decided to come but ended up really late; or two, something was wrong. And in Gwen's mind, it better be really, _really _wrong.

"The honeymoon is now officially cancelled," he replied.

Gwen fought the urge to throw a tantrum. "But we're going to London! To see the Harry Potter Studio Tour!"

"Well, it's just gonna have to wait. We have a situation."


	2. Chapter Two

**IMPORTANT NEWS: If you haven't already seen it, I posted a one-shot which was co-written with Justasmalltowngirl2713. It features Gwen and her OC Becky. If you haven't read her stories "The Right Partner" and "An Old Fashioned Notion" then I suggest you do so. They're fantastic!**

**Also, GUUUUYS you are all so amazing. I can't even count how many email notifications I got yesterday and today. I'm like spazzing out here. Sorry this is more of a filler chapter today. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible.**

**Lena Sauran: I'm sure you're not the only one haha. I bet there are silent readers who also like them together.**

**AngelVamp6688: He is a jerk face haha. Sometimes I want to falcon punch him.**

**dragonrain618: Thanks! I'm actually kind of worried about Clint and Barbara cause I don't want anyone to kill Clint just yet haha.**

**Azula Malfoy: I sure am updating soon :D**

**Guest: Silly Fury is silly. You'd expect Loki to be the one crashing weddings because he does what he wants.**

**pocahunta: YOU USED CAPS LOCK YOU MUST BE REALLY ANGRY. Stupid Fury.**

**Guest: Thanks! Awesome is my middle name. Actually, that's a lie.**

**Amelia St. Claire: Thanks! I'm pretty excited too!**

**StarViky: There should be an anti-Fury club.**

**MusicManiacGirl: Let's all throw Fury into a tank of sharks!**

**Guest: Haha Fury likes to torture everyone doesn't be. Maybe he had an unhappy childhood.**

**Jimmy 144: Thank you! :D**

**Arrows the Wolf: Saving the world is always the greatest honeymoon haha.**

**MysticRyter: Bucky may or may not be coming back in the fifth installment...**

**DragonQuill6913: Don't worry, they'll eventually have a honeymoon! Eventually...**

**Itsgoose2u: I'm mad at them too. And perhaps I will be including the Fantastic Four...**

**WillowDamon17: I know right? It'd be sad if the whole thing got ruined.**

**O.O TT. TT LOLz: Thank you! :D**

**TeamAmWolves: Don't worry, I'm planning on there being a physical fight between Natasha and Barbara. It should be interesting. hahaha omg Daisy and Fury.**

**WhyDoYouCareWhoIAm: Aww, thanks! That's great to hear!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: OMG A DYING OCTOPUS. PERFECT.**

**Guest: Aww, thanks! :)**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Haha I am now a murderer. I don't particularly like them eloping either, but I thought it would be good drama. And I took it from the comics. Spidey will be here soon! I'll be seeing the movie on the fourth and I'm so excited. I hear it's really good.**

**morbidly-funny: Thanks! I hope you like it!**

**mercy. pond: Wow! Haha I've stayed up late to read stories too. Thank you very much!**

**LiebenMadchan: Yay! Thank you so much!**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"This is so unfair!"

Gwen threw herself onto the bed shared by Tony and Pepper. Pepper had helped her out of the wedding dress, so she was now in a sweater and jeans.

"The one perfect day," continued Gwen, her voice muffled by the comforter, "and there has to be a situation?"

Pepper sat down next to her, in her own regular clothes, and stroked Gwen's hair comfortingly.

"I'm sure it's important," said Pepper.

"I suppose..."

"I do have to say, this sucks."

Gwen groaned. "I know."

"But just think. Once you guys solve whatever Fury's problem is, you'll be off to London with Steve."

"Maybe London isn't such a good idea after all."

"What d'you mean?"

"What if Fury decides there's another situation? We'll have to pack up early and come back. We might as well not have a honeymoon."

"What? No, just because you're now Mr. and Mrs. Captain America doesn't mean you can't have a personal life."

"This is SHIELD Pepper."

"Clint and Barbara have a personal life."

"They're on the West Coast now. Bad stuff always happens on the East Coast."

Pepper sighed. "Y'know, I've been wondering if Tony is going to propose to me."

Gwen couldn't help but smile, even though she knew Pepper was trying to change the subject.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Well, he asked if I like diamonds."

"He could just be trying to get you a gift."

"This is Tony Stark, Gwendolyn!"

"Okay, okay, this is unusual behavior for him! Would you say yes?"

"Well, he is very self-centered."

"True."

"And he's a superhero."

"So's my husband."

"And he can be an idiot."

"Aren't all guys like that?"

Pepper smiled. "Steve is a good idiot. Like Thor. They're both big and strong but still like little teddy bears on the inside."

"I can't imagine Thor being a teddy bear. But you're changing the subject. Would you, Pepper Potts, want to marry Tony Stark?"

"Yes," sighed Pepper, "yes I would."

"I call being Maid of Honor!"

* * *

Gwen entered the elevator, fully knowing she was the last to go. But she really didn't care at that moment.

She stepped out on the appropriate floor and made her way down the hall and to the conference room. It appeared she was the last to arrive except for Fury and Phil, the two of them always having to make their appearance last.

She sat down next to Steve who still looked very happy. It seemed he was simply enjoying the idea that she was now his wife as he was her husband. It must've been even more important to Steve than it was to her seeing as he still acted like the skinny Steve who never had the courage to ask a woman put on a date. Or to dance. He had mentioned something about that, saying that Gwen was "the right partner."

Daisy and Darcy were seated next to each other, the two of them always chatting. According to the duo, they were "fangirls." When Gwen thought of fangirls, she thought of overly obsessive girls, but neither Daisy nor Darcy seemed overly obsessed with everything. Maybe they did it in secret.

The rest of the crew were there too with the exception of Clint, Barbara, Rhodey and Erik. Gwen was curious as to why they were not here.

Fury, like always, walked in without any form of greeting. His black trench coat flew behind him as he walked into the room followed by Phil.

"There is an agency named AIM," began Fury as he took his place at the head of the table. "Right now they are experimenting on people."

"What?" asked Steve.

"They have a base in Florida," said Phil.

"We've been watching them for some time," continued Fury. "When you all thought Agent Coulson was dead, he was on a top secret mission to investigate their actions."

"So you finally tell us," said Tony.

Fury ignored him. "However, we've been getting high readings of gamma radiation coming from their Florida base. We are taking action."

"What exactly is AIM?" asked Jane.

"It stands for Advanced Idea Mechanics."

"Oh," said Tony, facepalming himself.

"What?" asked Daisy.

"Stark Industries has sold weapons to them in the past."

"Isn't that just great," muttered Hank.

"They are made up of those left from HYDRA." Fury looked right at Steve when he said this who stiffened. "Their leader is Baron von Strucker. Their goal is to take over the world."

"Why is it that all villains have to try to take over Earth?" whined Tony. "Aren't there, like, nine other realms or something?"

"We've sent the West Coast Avengers back to their base," continued Fury while ignoring all of Tony's side comments.

"Why?" asked Natasha.

"They're already in the process of searching for other bases. They're hard to find. Sometimes they're under the ocean."

"Wait," said Jane, "you had said SHIELD found Atlantis while looking for a base of another agency. Are you saying-"

"Atlantis was being used as their base. However, it seemed they decided to flood it. We still have no clue as to why."

"Failed experiments?" suggested Bruce.

"Possibly. But that isn't our objective. You're all to report back here at eleven tomorrow morning with exception of Miss Foster and Miss Lewis," ordered Fury. "You're all dismissed."

The moment they were dismissed, Gwen and Steve went down to the parking garage. There was no point in even trying to recover the celebration at this point. It was endlessly frustrating to Gwen. However, she couldn't help but feel that she should've expected this. She was a SHIELD agent and Steve was Captain America. They could have a personal life, but everything else came first.

After getting home, the two ate a quick dinner and got ready for bed.

Gwen went into their bedroom and played with the wedding band on her finger before she slid it off along with her engagement ring. She was planning on having them combined eventually. She placed both rings on the dresser and heard Steve walk in.

"What an interesting day," he said. "First we get married and then we find out that there's a secret agency that wants to experiment on people and take over the world and is made up of HYDRA."

Gwen turned around and out her arms around his neck as he put his around her waist.

She smiled up at him. "But we don't have to worry about that until tomorrow. So what do we do tonight?"

Steve kissed the side of her head before whispering in her ear, "Whatever pleases you, Mrs. Rogers."

* * *

**So yeah. I'll just leave it there.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Happy Independence Day my fellow Americans! KAW (that was my eagle impression). I'm also excited that I'm going to go see The Amazing Spider-Man and I'm super stoked for it.**

**damnitsfiction: Haha oh totally. I just don't like details.**

**MysticRyter: I don't believe so. It was just Red Skull and Anim Zola.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: OMG I'm laughing so hard right now. And I couldn't help myself with that! I thought of you when I wrote it.**

**pocahunta: I know, right? They've been together longer than Gwen and Steve!**

**Arrows the Wolf: Perhaps...but some things have to happen *grins evilly***

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! Oh totally. I think she'd love that.**

**MusicManiacGirl: Haha I know right?**

**AngelVamp6688: I have a feeling there will come a time in this installment where you'll actually like Fury...**

**DragonQuill6913: Not necessarily complications, but they'll certainly find something AIM didn't want anyone to find.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: That's totally how he should propose! I have to say, I was wondering how he would do it and I like that idea. It's enjoyable to make you have feels ehehehe.**

**Guest: Aww, thank you very much!**

**DarkRulerKida: Haha I have to agree with that!**

**tribute14: I know right? I really need to get some more fluff in there.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Thank you! :D You live there? LUCKY. I loved that place. I know what you mean by bipolar. We've been hitting 100 F just about everyday where I live.**

**StarViky: I know right? I ship them so hard.**

**Mzfeebs: Thank you very much! :D**

**GuitarGal20: That doesn't sound creepy at all haha! I'm really glad you like it. WELCOME. One definitely can't have too much Captain America. That's for sure. I love Clint/Natasha too...this love triangle is killing me haha.**

**Guest: Thank you! :D**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Gwen awoke the next morning to find herself alone in bed. She groaned and stretched, now having enough room to do so. She came to the conclusion that she'd have to get up at some point as Fury wanted them all to come in, so she rolled over.

The blonde blushed as she realized all the clothes she wore the previous night were scattered across the floor, leaving her in nothing but a sheet. She wrapped it around herself as she grabbed some clothes and put them on. Gwen was incredibly uncomfortable with nudity and therefore dressed as quickly as possible.

After dressing, Gwen went into the kitchen where Steve was also dressed and reading a newspaper. He had insisted that they have a subscription as it was something that was familiar to him. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Good morning, beautiful," he greeted her with a smile.

Gwen walked over and gave him a kiss. "Good morning, handsome."

"How did you sleep?"

"Fine. And you?"

"As long as I have you beside me, I'm great with everything."

Gwen looked down at her phone as she checked her messages in order to hide her blush.

"Fury wants us all in at ten now," she said, reading a message from Daisy.

"That gives us an hour to ourselves," stated Steve.

He got up and kissed her, surprising Gwen. She couldn't stop her blush as she recognized this as the way he kissed her the previous night and cursed herself for her awkwardness. Wasn't Steve supposed to be the more awkward one?

She felt her phone buzz in her hand before it began to ring, but it seemed Steve either didn't hear it or didn't care as he kissed her again. Gwen raised the phone to her eyes and saw it was Daisy calling.

"I have to get this, Steve," said Gwen.

"Fine," he groaned but with a playful smile on his lips. He then backed up and cleaned up his bowl of cereal.

Gwen rolled her eyes as she pressed the answer button and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked.

"It's Daisy," said a voice on the other side of the call, "Fury wants us in as fast as possible. He says they're moving."

"Okay, we're on our way."

Both Gwen and Daisy hung up. Steve had listened to Gwen and was already moving. The two quickly got into the car and drove to the tower. Steve parked the car in his spot and the two stepped out. JARVIS took them in the elevator up to the sixtieth floor. They stepped out and walked down the hall until they reached the conference room.

Seeing as Gwen and Steve were the only ones who didn't live in the tower, they were the last ones there. Tony, Bruce and Hank sat together while Daisy, Natasha and Luke sat together. Gwen and Steve sat down quickly as Fury and Phil were standing at the front of the table.

"From what we can see, AIM agents have already left the base," said Fury. "We are going to use this to our advantage. You will all be going down to that swamp and collecting all that you can. If there are people still there, they are your priority. You get them back here as soon as possible with some sort of identification. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," replied nearly everyone.

"Good. Now suit up."

Gwen went with Daisy and Natasha to the new women's locker room while the others went for the men's. These were on the sixtieth floor as well. Tony had them added in so everyone had a place to suit up and store their belongings for missions.

The three girls got in their brand new SHIELD uniforms that were specially designed by Tony, Bruce and Hank to fit them and their skills and abilities perfectly.

Gwen's uniform was a deep blue color which had rechargeable batteries within it. When she wasn't wearing it, it sat on a charger. Daisy's was dark brown and she looked like she was covered in mud. Tony purposely requested it to be like this, finding it hilarious. Needless to say, Daisy and Tony did _not_ get along. Especially because Tony always called her Quake and Daisy hated it, though Gwen could tell it was growing on the brunette. Natasha's uniform was black and suited her well for stealth.

As they walked down the hall to the new helipad, also on the sixtieth floor, the three girls nearly ran into a very tired looking Darcy who was holding a coffee and most likely making her way to Jane's lab, or really floor.

"Guys," she said, rubbing her eyes, "isn't it too early to be badass?"

"Mission time," answered Daisy.

"Well, good luck with that."

Darcy then continued down the hall, tripping over her feet a few times.

Without even stopping at the conference room, the group of Avengers walked straight to the helipad which had been added onto Avengers Tower. There was a Quinjet already waiting for them all. Gwen could see Tony already flying around in the sky, ready to follow the aircraft to Florida.

Each person climbed aboard, taking their seats. Daisy looked exhausted and Gwen assumed she had stayed up to late "fangirling" like her normal excuse was. But the young woman still had enough energy to cast a smile at Gwen and Steve as they held hands in their seats.

Gwen felt the Quinjet take off from the helipad as they began to make their way to Florida. She was slightly excited to return to that state, but it was also depressing as the last time she was there it was for her mother's funeral.

Nevertheless, Gwen was sure her mother, as well as her father, was looking down on her and smiling. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Winters in Asgard could be torturous. It was cold, not as cold as Niflheim or Jotunheim, but still very cold. The realm was normally in a state of heat during the spring and summer, leaving all of the residents accustomed to it.

Snow was falling as Loki laid in his bed. He had magicked a book to float above his face so he could read it. It was an interesting book on spells and magic. But Loki couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something.

"Brother!"

The loud booming voice of Thor seemed to actually startle Loki and the book fell with a thump on his face. Resisting the urge to throw it, Loki instead picked the book up and placed it to the side.

"Brother!" called Thor again. "Have you forgotten your own birthday?"

Loki scowled, only because of this celebration. It seemed that just because he had done some good deeds that he wanted things to be just like they had been. Granted he actually did, but he really didn't want a birthday celebration. Frigga and Thor had gotten all excited about it, even Odin seemed happier than usual. But it was Loki who wasn't excited. But then again, Loki wasn't much for social interaction.

Besides, he wasn't up for celebrating his birth. Who would be when they found out the truth like he did? How fitting it was to be so cold and for it to be snowing. It seemed that greater powers out there wanted him to suffer.

But nevertheless, he was attending. Loki stood up, placing his book on a bedside table. He was already dressed in his regal clothing, so he did nothing to himself as he walked out of his room to Thor.

Poor Thor.

The man felt so terribly guilty about Loki so he was constantly going out of his way to make his brother happy. It wasn't something that made Loki particularly happy. The god of mischief was finding time alone to be much more comfortable. At least then he could lose himself in a book and never have to remember the darkness that had once engulfed him. It was still there, lurking behind him like a predator watching its prey. A few times he had almost slipped into it, but he always came out. The problem was, he didn't have a true purpose to come back. There was no threat, there was only the festivities that Asgard was constantly throwing. Aesirs seemed to enjoy their parties.

Loki walked with Thor to the grand hall which the party was taking place. Loki would be honored by Odin sometime throughout the night. Frigga would talk with Queen Freyja of Vanaheim, Thor and Sif would watch over everyone, Fandral would drink, Volstagg would eat, Hogun would frown and Loki would be trying to avoid social contact.

Loki could see their Vanir guests and his heart skipped beat when he recognized someone.

A girl no older than him with golden locks stood next to her sisters. The oldest ones were talking while the younger ones played around their legs. Loki found himself frozen, unsure of what to do. And then a conversation he had on Earth with Gwendolyn Powers ran through his mind.

She had told him to go for Sigyn.

It was ridiculous. Who would want him in return? He was a murderer. He was insane. He heard the things that people whispered behind his back. Loki may have done good and he may have been honored for it, but that didn't matter to anyone it seemed. He was still dangerous to them.

Well, then he'd just have to prove them wrong.

Loki waited for Sigyn to excuse herself from her sisters. He noticed that she hadn't been interested in their conversation and was itching to get away. So once she broke away from the group, he watched her walk to a balcony that overlooked the city. This was the perfect opportunity for him.

"It's more beautiful in the summer," he said as he slowly approached her.

Sigyn jumped as though she had been in deep thought. She turned around, wrapping the shawl around her tighter and smiled warmly at him. It was a genuine smile. Loki felt his insides turn and he wasn't sure if this was good or bad as he had never felt this before.

"Then you should see Vanaheim," she answered as though they were the best of friends. "The forests there are a sight to behold."

Loki finally stepped up next to her, happy that she hadn't rejected him. It was strange that she seemed so calm around him while others looked as though he was going to lash out at them in a split second.

"Have you pulled any pranks lately?" she asked out of nowhere.

"I do not think people would appreciate my tricks," he replied.

"Maybe that is exactly what they need."

He looked over at her and saw that she was looking at him. Her blue eyes were sparkling and her pale cheeks were slightly flushed from the cold. She smiled again before turning and walking back to her family, leaving Loki alone on the balcony feeling the warmest he had in his life.

* * *

**Just before you guys say anything, there is a purpose to the Loki/Sigyn stuff. I know Loki might've seemed a bit OOC, but I honestly think that he's trying to stop himself from doing bad things as much as he wants to, mainly because he's trying to think logically.**


	4. Chapter Four

**Okay okay okay**

**Spider-Man was PERFECT. I had so many feels. I think I'm actually going to tie in a bit of movie verse with this story, but I'm also going to take my own direction with it. By the way, there is an after the credits scene like always, but it is in the same spot as the Thanos scene. That way you don't have to sit until the end like I did. I think the guy talking to Kurt in that scene is Norman Osborn. I bet they bring in the Green Goblin for the sequel. Anyway...**

**pocahunta: I think so too! It thought they might do that, but from what I've heard, it's going to focus more on Thor and Jane's relationship. I personally love action more than romance, but I ship them so hard.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Nah, he'll marry her 'cause he does what he wants. And don't worry, the movie is worth the wait!**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Probably around a thousand haha. And yeah, Daisy was fascinated, but she's more obsessed with shipped Gwen/Steve.**

**MysticRyter: BUT HE'S SO ATTRACTIVE. And he seems like such a nice person. And he has a nice face.**

**GuitarGal20: Can you imagine Tony walking in on them during their honeymoon? Ohmygod he'd probably start laughing or something. And then Gwen wouldn't ever want to look at him again out of embarrassment. Yay for Loki having someone to love! I really want him to be happy. And yes, there'll be plenty of Thor/Jane moments to come.**

**ImmaEnforcer: Thank you very much! :D**

**bookworm1517: Thank you so much! I promise that there will be Clint/Natasha scenes. Trust me, Hawkeye's going to get very confused.**

**AngelVamp6688: It's really dry here too! I bet there'll be lots of fires...and that is a good movie! Vampires that don't sparkle!**

**Mzfeebs: Thanks! And omg I want to see it again. He needs to be in the Avengers. Seriously.**

**NekoKittyNinja: Thank you! I'm glad that this story could occupy your time. That's always a nice thing. Man, that's a long journey. We never really go out of state here so wow...I'd die.**

**morbidly-funny: I bet Steve would be a great dad haha. He will one day. It's too dangerous out there now though. And yay for Sigyn!**

**Itsgoose2u: Haha thanks! I'm hoping that maybe I can make Loki a bit evil a few times, but now that Sigyn's here he can help him.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Haha Loki's such a downer. Maybe Sigyn can make him happy. I'm sorry about that phone call! Gwen and Steve are always interrupted. And like I said, the movie was SOOO good. Andrew is fantastic. I want him to be in the Avengers 2.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: HAHAHAHA OMG that's one way to put it.**

**Guest: Thank you! :D**

**MusicManiacGirl: We probably will, but not at the moment. There's a lot of crap that's gonna go on in Gwen's life soon haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

The Avengers found themselves in a Florida marsh. According to the radar, they were right above the base.

"How do we get in?" asked Bruce.

"Just give me a second," came Tony's voice. Gwen watched out of the front of the Quinjet as Iron Man landed in the marsh and reached down. It seemed he was pulling something open. They all leaned forward to see Tony open a door.

"Quickly!" ordered Tony, his voice slightly strained.

The Quinjet descended as fast as possible as they landed underneath the marsh. Gwen heard a slam as Tony let the door close.

"I'll get the lights," he said as the back of the Quinjet opened. Steve and Luke went out first as the lights started coming on revealing a steel room. Gwen followed him alongside Daisy with Natasha and Hank behind them.

Bruce stayed in the aircraft as they moved forward, being careful of what they might encounter.

"JARVIS is picking up life signs," stated Tony.

"How many?" asked Gwen.

"Two. And they're faint."

"Faint as in...?" Natasha trailed off.

"Like they'll die if we don't find them."

"Well, then let's go find them," said Luke.

The group was cautious as they followed Tony through several doors. The genius managed to hack into every one of them. From what Gwen could see, no one was there just as Tony said. She was curious to find who these two people were and why they were left alone.

Gwen looked around and could see that a lot of machines and utensils had been left behind. It looked like they had been in a hurry to get out. Had they known Gwen and the others were coming? Something seemed very off about the whole situation.

Gwen looked through and open door and felt like she was looking into some sort of Umbrella experimentation room from Resident Evil. Actually, the whole place felt like some sort of Umbrella facility. Gwen half expected Milla Jovovitch to jump out and start killing zombies. What if there were zombies? Maybe that was why they abandoned the place. Gwen realized she was freaking herself out. There were no zombies here.

Tony went ahead of them, JARVIS most likely telling him where to go. Gwen could barely see him at the end of the hall.

"In here!" called Tony.

Gwen and the others raced into the room he was standing in. It was an operating room with bright white walls a lot like the others Gwen had seen. There was a mirror on one wall that Gwen assumed was one of those one-way mirrors. In the center of the room, however, were two operating tables. On each one was a person, both in white scrubs.

While Tony and Steve went to work on releasing the unconscious test subjects, Gwen and Daisy searched for any information on them.

"I found something," stated Daisy, raising a manila folder in her hand. She opened it up and started reading out loud. "Test Subject 33-C is named Janet van Dyne."

"This must be her," said Steve as he released one of the patients wrists from bands. She had short auburn hair. Gwen saw that she and the other patient were wearing wristbands with most likely their number on it.

"It says her father is Vernon van Dyne," continued Daisy. "It looks like he was some sort of scientist."

"Was?" asked Hank.

"It says he died mysteriously."

Gwen found another manila folder and picked it up. Inside was several different documents and medical records.

"Test Subject 33-D is named Elizabeth Ross," she stated.

"Did you say Elizabeth Ross?" asked Bruce.

"Yeah," answered Gwen. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah, actually, I do."

"Do I smell a love interest?" teased Tony. Bruce didn't answer.

"Let's get them back to the Quinjet," said Steve.

He and Luke found stretchers and they gently placed Janet and Elizabeth on separate ones. Tony checked their vitals as Gwen and Daisy led them back to the Quinjet, Natasha and Hank taking the rear. Even if there weren't any other life signs, they weren't going to take risks.

Gwen coughed as the reached the Quinjet and Steve looked at her in concern.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

"It's just a cold, Steve," she answered. "I'm fine."

Steve still looked concerned as he turned away and helped get the stretchers into the Quinjet. Gwen followed and saw that Bruce immediately started attending to Elizabeth while Tony checked out Janet.

They landed on the helipad and it seemed that Fury had already sent a medical team. Janet and Elizabeth were wheeled out of the Quinjet and to the medical ward in the Tower. Bruce followed them with Hank while Tony went up to the penthouse to get out of his suit.

Before Gwen and the others could go anywhere, Phil approached them.

"Director Fury would like you all in the conference room when you're ready to debrief the mission," he stated.

They all nodded, all of them going their separate ways to change into their regular clothes.

Once back in her favorite sweater and jeans, Gwen went with Steve hand in hand to the conference room. Daisy was already seated with Luke, the two of them arguing.

"I'm telling you, the prequels weren't actually that bad," said Daisy.

"They wouldn't have been as bad if Jar Jar hadn't been created," argued Luke.

Daisy gasped dramatically. "Jar Jar is the best character!"

"Oh please, he's annoying."

"You take that back."

"We're making threats now?" asked Tony as he, Bruce and Hank all came in followed by Natasha, Phil and Fury.

They all took their seats except for Phil and Fury like always. They stood at the head of the table.

"Both Janet van Dyne and Elizabeth Ross are stable," reported Fury. "It seems we got to them just in time."

"But what were they doing?" asked Natasha.

"That's what we're going to find out. Tomorrow you're all going back to do some more investigating. You're all dismissed."

As they all got up, Gwen coughed loudly.

"Hey Gwenie, you need something for that cough?" asked Tony.

"No, I'm good."

She couldn't help but see Steve and Tony have a silent conversation between them. She groaned, hating when they did that because it was always about her.

They finally broke eye contact and Steve took Gwen's hand. Together they went to the elevator and into the parking garage where Gwen's blue Beetle was waiting for them. Steve drove them home, glancing over at Gwen a few times.

"What?" she asked as they drove down their street.

"Nothing."

"You're a terrible liar."

Steve sighed. "I just don't want you getting sick."

Gwen couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her. "I'm _not_ sick."

He didn't say anything more as they pulled into the driveway and got out. Steve unlocked the front door and the two of the walked inside, Steve not commenting on Gwen's cold anymore.

* * *

The Other sat in what used to be the throne of Thanos. After word got to him that the Skrulls had fled Midgard and that Thanos was defeated, he had become frustrated. Two separate people tried to take over Midgard and both were unsuccessful. Maybe it was time for him to lead the Chitauri to Midgard. They were rebuilding fast.

"This place is so dull."

The Other snapped his head up to see a woman with long blonde hair approaching him. She wore a short green dress with green tights and boots. There was a playful smile on her lips as she strutted towards him.

"Who are you?" he asked, sitting up straight.

"I am Amora of Asgard," she answered.

"If you are of Asgard then why are you here?"

She examined her nails. "Well, I used to be of Asgard. I was exiled along with a..._friend_. But that does not matter. I am here to offer you my help as I had Thanos."

"And what help is that?"

"I happen to be an accomplished sorceress. I can get into Asgard and help keep them away from Midgard. I also happen to have allies on Earth. After your Chitauri are done rebuilding, we can make a plan. A plan to finally take over the universe."

The Other laughed. "You are the Enchantress. How do I know I can trust you?"

"I am the only help you will get."

"Alright. However, I have a few conditions."

"As you wish, my Lord."


	5. Chapter Five

**Hello everyone! In surprised I actually got to post today. I wasn't sure if I would or not.**

**Lena Saruan: Eeek! yay!**

**Guest: Dun dun dun.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Yet another reason we are meant to be friends.**

**MysticRyter: Kind of like Lindsey Lohan haha. I used to like her but now I hate her.**

**DragonQuill6139: You'll find out soon enough...**

**pocahunta: Yes, she is the Wasp! Just not exactly yet in the story.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Sorry! I'll work on making them longer. And trust me, there's plenty of Gwen/Steve moments coming up.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Right! I think Bruce needs someone to hang out with other than Tony for once.**

**morbidly-funny: Thanks! I'm glad that reference helped.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! I'm afraid a trip to the drug store won't be enough though...**

**O. O TT. TT LOLz: Me too! :D**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I SO need to write an epic battle between them two. That'd be so awesome. I honestly see Steve going into sweetheart mode at any time haha. Oh, he's definitely fitting in. I loved Andrew's performance so much.**

**AngelVamp6688: Hahah that would suck for Gwen. However, you'll have to wait to find out because I'm evil.**

**dragonrain618: Haha they sure will! And yay for Enchantress returning!**

**Guest: You won't have to wait any longer!**

**StarViky: It is really good though! I'm sure you'll like it. It's worth the wait.**

**tribute14: Either the new movie is going to be really good or really confusing. I kinda wish there would be more zombies though haha.**

**GuitarGal20: Thank you! I'm jus as excited as you are about Bruce getting someone. He seems like a total sweetheart. And don't worry, Daisy will get someone. Someone who was actually in one of the movies, but I'm not telling who it is yet. And I totally agree. Why can't we all have a Steve Rogers?**

**LiebenMachen: I'll have to get that in somewhere! That'd be so awkwardly funny!**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

The next day, Gwen woke up in Steve's arms like every morning. She could never get over opening her eyes and seeing his sleeping form beside her. She loved seeing his blonde hair tousled and his chest rising and falling with each breath.

Steve was generally a pretty deep sleeper, so when Gwen woke up first, she was normally able to slip out of bed without waking him up. After doing so, Gwen went to check her phone for any messages. There wasn't anything new, so she decided to go and get some breakfast ready for herself.

However, Gwen felt Steve's arms wrap around her waist and she turned around in them to look at him. He kissed her gently and brought a hand up to her face.

"You feel warm," he stated.

"Um, I'm sorry? Is that bad?"

"Gwen, it's the end of February. If your face is warm, then you're coming down with something."

Gwen groaned as she let her head fall onto his chest and wrapped her arms around his middle. This was not the time for Steve to go into concerned husband mode. Besides, Gwen felt just about one hundred percent. Yes, her throat was a bit dry and she was coughing, but other than that she was fine.

"You have bigger things to worry about," said Gwen into Steve's shirt.

"Like what?"

"Like me hurting you if you get all worked up about a cold."

Steve sighed and kissed the top of her head. "You are so stubborn."

"Isn't that why you love me?"

He chuckled. "I love your stubbornness when it's towards other people."

Gwen laughed as well. "Seriously though. I'm fine."

She leaned back and Steve moved down to kiss her again before letting her go to get ready for the day.

It wasn't long before Gwen and Steve were back and suiting up at the Tower. There wasn't even a meeting to go through with Fury before they left. Bruce decided to stay as he helped the medical crew with tending to both Elizabeth and Janet. Jane began work on trying to track down where AIM was now in hopes of stopping them from experimenting on anyone else.

It felt like an even shorter ride back to the marsh and they went through the same thing as the previous day. Once out of the Quinjet, Steve ordered them to go separate ways in order to cover more ground faster. According to Tony, this place was huge.

Gwen was instructed to take a path to the north and she did as told. The hall was cold and had a creepy feeling to it. She tried all of the doors that she came upon and they all opened. Unfortunately, there was nothing left in them. It seemed AIM actually hadn't left everything behind.

She eventually came across what seemed to be a lab. The counters were almost bare except for folders and papers spread about them.

One folder was labeled "C. Connors." She picked it up and looked inside. There was any information about what the label meant, but instead one document that talked about crossing species. Gwen furrowed her brow. She looked over the paper and her eyes landed on the bottom of the page. There was a logo that read "OSCORP." She had heard of Oscorp before, but didn't know what they did. She could remember seeing some things being sent to them from Stark Industries when the corporation first started but that was it.

"What is this?" mumbled Gwen to herself as she picked up what seemed to be some sort of blueprints that we're sitting next to the folder. She certainly didn't like the look of it. It almost looked like a man, but he was in some sort of machine or chair. She quickly grabbed them and slid them into the bag she carried. There was barely anything left behind other than what she found. Gwen wondered if these plans had been forgotten for a purpose. Or maybe AIM no longer needed them. That was certainly a scary thought.

* * *

The Grand Library in Asgard was a marvelous sight for people such as Loki. There were shelves upon shelves of books. It was impossible to go through them all in one lifetime. But it seemed maybe Loki was going to break that record.

When the god wasn't sulking in his room or putting on a smile for the rest of the realm, Loki was tucked away in a dark corner of the Library reading any book he could get his hands on. After spending do much time like this, he was beginning to not even care what he was reading just as long as he was alone.

His eyes devoured the pages of his latest story and he didn't even notice when Sigyn found him. She smiled at his image, amused by the way he blocked out the rest of the world while he read.

Silently, she moved forward and sat down across the table from him. He didn't even notice this action. Or perhaps he was ignoring it. Either way, he paid no attention to her presence

"My sister Nanna once told me that reading in the dark can hurt your eyes," she said.

Loki's eyes snapped up and showed nothing but a fiery anger at being disturbed. However, Sigyn showed no fear of this reaction and sat normally. Loki's eyes softened as he recognized who it was. He leaned back from his book, not realizing he had been hunched over it.

"Lady Sigyn," he greeted with a polite nod.

"Prince Loki."

Loki wasn't quite sure what else to say. What could he? For one thing, he wasn't even sure why Sigyn began talking to him. He certainly wasn't complaining, but he just couldn't understand it.

"That is an interesting book," she commented, pointing to the one he was reading called 101 Usefull Spells.

"You do magic?"

"Oh, yes. I rather like the one that reverses any kind of prank pulled by the god of mischief. Especially when he turns your hair into snakes."

The corners of Loki's mouth twitched. "I daresay it was rather funny."

"I couldn't go outside for three days!" Sigyn exclaimed with a laugh. "Even my grandfather thought it was funny."

Loki laughed. He actually laughed. And it was a real one. Not one that he faked around his family, but a genuine laugh.

"I always did like your tricks," continued Sigyn. "I hope you've come out enough of the darkness you were in to enjoy them too."

And with one last smile, Sigyn got up and left leaving Loki alone in the Library once again. Maybe being alone wasn't such a great thing after all.

* * *

In Midtown High School, a teenage boy with brown hair and his father's black glasses walked through the halls. His hood was up over his head and there were earbuds in his ears that connected to his iPod. The boy walked with his hands in his pockets as he tried to avoid social contact.

He was angry. Very angry. All he could think about was the robber that shot Uncle Ben. He could still see Uncle Ben's lifeless face in his mind. If he had just stopped the guy in the store it would've never happened. Damn that milk he had wanted.

Peter stopped at his locker. He felt lifeless and pathetic. How could he let this happen?

"Parker!"

Peter felt incredibly irritated by the sound of his classmate's voice. This was the last person he needed to talk to.

The moment Flash came next to him, Peter grabbed the bully's shirt and pressed him up against the lockers. Flash, who was wearing a gray sweatshirt, looked frightened at the sudden action. Nearby students were watching with interest.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry about you uncle," said Flash quickly. "I'm sorry about him."

Peter thought for a moment before releasing Flash. Still angry, Peter slammed his locker shut and walked down the hall with his backpack over his shoulder.

A girl with light blonde hair saw him and stopped in front of him.

"Peter," was all Gwen Stacy

muttered before wrapping her arms around him. It was obvious Peter simply wanted to get away from everyone, so she let him go and watched as he stalked down the hall.

Once school was over for the day, Peter grabbed his skateboard and made his way out of the school.

"Peter Parker?"

The teenager turned to see a man standing next to a black SUV with tinted windows. The man was tall with a shaved head and wore a black tench coat and eye patch. Peter immediately thought this guy was weird. Who actually went out in public like that?

"Yeah?" replied Peter.

"My name's Nick Fury. I'm the Director of SHIELD."

"Is that, uh, supposed to mean something to me?"

Fury smirked. "Yes it is, Mr. Parker. First of all, I'm sorry about your uncle. But that isn't why I'm here."

"Then why are you?"

"I can get you some closure about you parents. At SHIELD, we can get a lot of valuable information. Besides, I believe you've changed a bit recently."

Peter's head snapped up. "What?"

"We know what happened in Oscorp Tower, Mr. Parker."

"What d'you want?"

"Come to Avengers Tower tomorrow at four in the afternoon. I'll tell you then. Have a good day, Mr. Parker."

And with that, Nick Fury got in the passenger seat of the SUV and drove off. Had that really just happened?

Peter made his way back home. He noticed a moving truck parked in front of the home next to him. There were four people moving in boxes, one of which was a redheaded girl and another he recognized from school, but couldn't place the name.

Ignoring them, he went inside where Aunt May was cooking some sort of dinner already. Peter figured it wasn't going to be meatloaf.

Aunt May didn't say anything as Peter entered. The teenager decided that it'd be more peaceful on the roof. He secured his backpack on him and made sure there was no one watching before he climbed up the front with ease and sat on the roof. He took out his homework and began to work on it.

"Peter Parker?"

Peter turned his head to see the familiar looking boy staring up at him. He had reddish brown hair and blue eyes.

"Yeah?" answered Peter, tapping a pencil on a pad of paper.

"I'm Harry Osborn," said the other teenager. "I don't think we've ever talked before."

"I don't think so either. You're, uh, Osborn's kid then?"

Harry laughed without humor. "Yeah, Norman's my dad. Not the best though."

At least you have your dad, thought Peter.

"So are you guys moving in here?"

"Nah, I'm just helping my girlfriend." Harry turned to the open door of the home. "Hey, MJ! Come out here."

The redheaded girl came back out and smiled up at Peter, following Harry's gaze.

"MJ, this is Peter Parker. He's our age."

"Hi, Peter," greeted MJ. "I'm Mary-Jane Watson. I know that's a mouthful, so just call me MJ."

Peter nodded. "It's nice to meet you MJ."

"Nice to meet you too! Now, Harry, where did you put my hat?"

Peter turned back to his homework, but there was too much on his mind the focus. The thing that stuck out the most was the strange Nick Fury guy. What did he even want?

Peter figured he was just going to have to wait to find out.

* * *

**I'm actually not too happy with the way this chapter turned out, but hopefully it wasn't that bad. I know it wasn't that long, but the next one is A LOT longer.**


	6. Chapter Six

**Hello everyone! I really don't have much to say today except that it's the one year anniversary of the last Harry Potter premiere. LONG LIVE THE BOY WHO LIVED.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: ASDFGHJKL; It'll be great. Omg.**

**MysticRyter: Ahhhh i hope you didn't slam your head on the keyboard there. I love sarcastic Spider-Man, so that's what I'm going with. Andrew was great in the movie. And I honestly didn't intend for there to two Gwen's that look alike. And that's pretty weird haha.**

**pocahunta: It is super good! And yes, Peter is with Gwen Stacy. For now (muahahahaha)**

**Itsgoose2u: Hehehe I seem to be good at making people have feels.**

**dragonrain618: I'm glad you liked them! I was worried about those two scenes haha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Aww, that made me feel a lot better about that chapter. I just didn't like the way it flowed, but I wanted to get in the Oscorp reference and stuff and then bring in Peter in the same chapter. So thank you very much! And I agree, Tony should be the only one who interrupts fluff scenes. I'd actually love to like have Phil find them while they're kissing passionately or something and then just go, "Oh, you're busy. I'll come back later." and then just walk away.**

**Peace and Blessings: I'm sorry! Hopefully I can make him not scary.**

**Arrows the Wolf: I fell in love with him too haha. Andrew playing Peter is so much better than Tobey playing Peter in my opinion. And I'm glad you figured out stuff!**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Thanks! Trust me, there will be more Gwen and Steve moments.**

**StarViky: I am actually. There's the scene in the last chapter in which Peter throws Flash into the lockers that I took from the movie and there will be more similar scenes, but I'm changing them a bit to fit this story.**

**AngelVamp6688: The new movie is soooo much better! It's a lot more like the comics. It's weird how some people don't like it, but those are the ones who have never read the comics or have seen the cartoons (I used to watch them all the time when I was little)**

**morbidly-funny: Thanks! I hate when people portray her as a doormat haha.**

**tribute14: Thanks! I'm glad he has someone to love too.**

**Nerdsandmustaches: Thank you! It's fun to have the ability to make people fangirl.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

The medical ward in Avengers Tower was almost like a hospital. It took up the fifty-ninth floor, close to the SHIELD main floor just in case. There were about a dozen doctors as well as nurses who were always taking care of the residents in the Tower. The lead doctor's name was Fred Gould and was specifically chosen by Fury for his ability to stay calm in bad situations and never making a mistake. There were twelve hospital rooms in all, excluding the four emergency rooms, each one equipped with all the equipment anyone would ever need. The rooms were comfortable and spacious.

Both Elizabeth and Janet woke up in their rooms the day after they were found. Hank was with Janet as Bruce insisted on being with Elizabeth. He had to know if she was going to be okay.

He was going through her records from the manila folder that was found when he heard her moving around as if waking up. Bruce's heart started racing as he sat down on the bed next to her, being careful. He didn't know if she'd even recognize him.

"Betty?" he asked.

She opened her eyes and blinked a few times as everything came into focus. She squinted as if that would help her figure out where she was and what happened. Betty then looked at Bruce whose brown eyes were softened.

"Betty?" he repeated.

"Who are you?" she asked. It wasn't in a mean way. She merely sounded confused and curious.

Nevertheless, Bruce's heart fell. She didn't remember him. He desperately wanted her to, but at least right now she was only suffering from memory loss. But Bruce was determined to fix her.

"My name is Bruce Banner," he answered as calmly as he could. "You're in a medical ward in Avengers Tower. Do you remember who you are, maybe what happened?"

She furrowed her brow while searching her mind for answers. She then looked back up at Bruce.

"My name is Betty Ross," she replied slowly as if unsure of her answer. "But I can't...I can't remember what happened. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Bruce instinctively grabbed her hand and felt fortunate that she didn't yank it away. It seemed she was okay with his touch. "We can help you, Betty."

"You look familiar," she said quietly.

Bruce nodded with a sad smile. "You know me."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We'll get your memory back. Right now we're just going to monitor how you're doing."

"Do you know what happened?"

Bruce sighed, not sure if she'd want to hear the truth. "You were experimented on by an agency named AIM. I'm with the agency SHIELD. You're perfectly safe now and we're going to find out what happened and who did this."

Betty nodded in understanding.

"Is there anything I can get you right now?" asked Bruce. "There's television in the wall over there. Just ask JARVIS to bring it out if you need it. He'll work everything for you. He's the Artificial Intelligence that runs this place."

Betty nodded. "I think I'm good for now."

"Well, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, Bruce."

Bruce couldn't help but smile at her and she smiled back. "You're welcome."

* * *

In the next room over, Hank stopped looking over Janet's vitals as she woke up. He couldn't help but notice how strikingly similar they were to his. He'd have to make note of that.

"Where am I?" she asked as though frightened though slightly groggy.

"You're in Avengers Tower," supplied Hank, not looking over at her.

She was silent for a moment. "I got rescued?"

Hank nodded. "Along with Elizabeth Ross."

He looked over now and saw Janet let her head fall back onto her pillow and let out a breath of relief. She closed her eyes as if savoring this moment of freedom.

"Thank God," she mumbled. She ran her hands over her face.

"It was pretty bad then?" asked Hank. He felt stupid for asking that question, but Janet didn't seem offended.

Instead she nodded. "Oh yeah. You wouldn't believe what they did in there. I think I'm lucky to be alive."

"Well, now that you're here we're going to monitor you. We'll make sure you're okay and then we'll let you go."

There was a small pause of silence before Janet spoke again. "Thank you, um-"

"Hank. My name's Hank Pym."

"Thank you, Hank Pym."

Hank looked over at Janet who was smiling at him. And he couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

Gwen and the others got back at around four-thirty that day. She was disappointed at the lack of stuff they found, though Steve certainly wasn't happy by the blueprints. She didn't dare ask him about it. For one thing, Steve wasn't happy that this had to do with HYDRA, so anything they found seemed to bug him even more. But Gwen couldn't blame him. He had crashed a plane in the Arctic to stop them for crying out loud and they were at it all over again.

Tony, of course, scoffed at the "C. Connors" folder and the Oscorp document.

"The people that work there are nuts," he said as they traveled in the Quinjet.

"How so?" asked Gwen.

"They've been doing a lot of biological research lately. Maybe this was their latest project."

"But how come AIM has it?" asked Natasha.

"They could be working together," suggested Luke.

"If they are, it's secretly," said Tony.

Once they landed on the helipad, Gwen went with Daisy and Natasha to the women's locker room after handing their newfound documents to Phil. They changed out of their uniforms and placed their weapons in their designated spots. After dressing up in their street clothes, they exited the room.

"I'm going to my apartment," said Daisy. "Darcy and I stayed up late last night messaging each other."

"You two live like, right next to each other," stated Natasha, her eyebrows raised.

"Don't judge me."

"Well, I'm going to find Steve," said Gwen.

"I'll see you two tomorrow," added Natasha and then turned on her heel and left.

"Have I ever mentioned how scary she can be?" asked Daisy.

Gwen stifled a laugh. "Only about a hundred times."

"Well, it's not like we're counting. Anyway, are you coming in tomorrow?"

"I should be, why?"

"It's just this whole cold thing."

"Don't tell me you're a germaphobe."

"Well, maybe a little..."

"Daisy, don't worry. I'll get some rest and take some cough medicine. I'll be fine."

Daisy smiled. "Okay. I'll talk to you later. Have fun with Steve!"

The brunette then turned and left for the elevator, leaving Gwen blushing and looking almost like a tomato.

Gwen turned back to the other end of the hall where the men's locker room was. She saw Steve and Luke coming out, laughing at whatever they were talking about. They said their goodbyes, Luke most likely going for the other elevator in the Tower to go to the gym.

Steve, instead came over to Gwen, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her.

"That's one way to say hello," she laughed.

He smiled and looked over her shoulder, but then quickly back to her. However, Gwen had seen this and tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Steve, what are you up to?" she asked as she managed to turn around. Walking up to them was Tony.

"It's more like what are _we_ up to," he said.

Steve let go of her once Tony was close to them. She looked back and forth between the two.

"Okay, then what are _you guys_ up to?"

"You're sick," stated Tony. "We're taking you to see Gould."

Gwen felt her temper flair up, something that didn't happen easily unless pushed. She, fortunately, had learned enough to control herself and not let another accident happen. But that didn't stop her from getting angry and eventually getting a headache despite her medication.

"No, no, no," she said quickly. "You know how I feel about doctors."

"Yeah, but you like Gould," said Steve.

"I have nothing against Fred, I just don't like that stuff. You both know that."

"That's why we trapped you," said Tony with a careless shrug as if this was nothing.

"I'm fine!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I bet you ten bucks this cold will be over in a few days!"

Steve and Tony looked at each other and then back at Gwen. She could tell neither one of them wanted to give up.

"Listen," continued Gwen, putting her hands on her hips, "I'm sure I just picked up something because of the stress of the wedding. Pepper wanted everything to be perfect and she was freaking me out. _I'll. Be. Fine._"

"You're seeing him tomorrow," said Tony, pointing a dangerous looking device in his hand at her. "That's final."

Gwen felt like a child as he walked away. Steve took her hand and started walking her towards one of the elevators. She was still angry that they had been planning against her like that. There was nothing she hated and feared more in the world than needles and doctors. Steve and Tony both knew this very well. Yet they wanted her to face those fears for a simple cold.

Gwen didn't speak the entire car ride home. Steve obviously didn't regret his actions, even if Gwen was being stubborn about it. Though she could tell he wished she'd speak to him. She felt like a child yet again. What good would fuming quietly do? Yes, it showed she was angry, but if Steve just went with it, she'd have to be the one to break. Gwen realized she might as well stop being immature.

When they got inside, Gwen got to work on some soup for dinner, electing to simply use some from a can to speed it up. Steve was in their bedroom, no doubt talking to Tony on the phone about her. They were seriously getting on her nerves.

"Soup's ready!" she called once she brought the two bowls over to the kitchen table.

Steve came out and looked at her cautiously like she might Hulk out if he did something wrong. She offered him a smile which didn't seem to comfort him whatsoever. He looked as though his mind was screaming, "It's a trap!"

However, he followed Gwen's action of sitting down. Gwen picked up her spoon and took a sip of her soup. She looked up at Steve who was slowly picking up his spoon and looking at his soup.

"I didn't poison it if that's what you're wondering," she said sarcastically.

"I just though you were upset," he answered.

"Well, yeah I was upset. You know how I feel about that stuff and it's a common cold. I don't understand why you guys are so worried about this."

"Stark's more worried than I am."

"Just tell him to chill then. He seems to listen to you better than me now."

"Just go to Doctor Gould tomorrow. If he says you're fine, then we'll stop worrying."

"Okay, fine. Just as long as he doesn't use needles."

Steve stifled a laugh. "I think he won't if he remembers last time."

Gwen rolled her eyes and flushed slightly in embarrassment as she remembered how Fred had wanted to take blood from all of the Avengers for record purposes and Gwen had freaked out, leading Steve to have to hold her hand while she bit back sobs. Steve liked to tease her and say that she nearly broke his fingers.

* * *

Steve drove Gwen and himself to the Tower the next day. Gwen wasn't in a good mood again with the knowledge that she had to visit the medical ward stuck in her mind. They took the elevator up from the parking garage to the fifty-ninth floor and Gwen cringed when the doors opened and the smell of cleanliness went up her nose.

The medical ward looked basically like a floor in a general hospital. It was quiet except for the voices of the nurses talking and the occasional beep from a machine. The walls were a boring off-white color and the floors were glossy tan stone with different colored rocks imbedded into it. In the center was an oval shaped counter with two openings on the far sides.

Gwen stepped forward and out of the elevator, her fists clenched. She turned around to see Steve still standing there, his hands in his pockets.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked, becoming panicked.

"I can't," he answered. "Stark wants me to help out with some prototype."

"But why can't Bruce or Hank help him?"

"They're somewhere on this floor tending to those women we found."

Gwen nodded and gulped as the doors closed and Steve gave her a sympathetic smile. She then turned around and approached the counter, where a nurse she knew by the name of Rachael was sitting. She was an overly kind young woman with brown hair always tied into a low ponytail. Her cheeks were slightly pink and her brown eyes were big and full of light. She almost looked like some sort of manga drawing.

"How can I help you today, Agent Rogers?" she asked.

Gwen smiled at the fact Rachael remembered to call her Rogers.

"Tony requested, actually _demanded_, that I see Doctor Gould because of my common cold."

Rachael smiled brightly as she always did and nodded. "He's free right now. I'll call for him."

Gwen opted to stand at the counter instead of sitting in one of the waiting chairs while Rachael picked up a gray phone and called Fred. Once she hung up, she looked back up at Gwen.

"He'll be right out," Rachael stated.

"Thanks," replied Gwen.

It was merely seconds before Fred came out of his little office in the medical ward, a friendly smile on his face. Fred was a tall man who was never seen out of his scrubs and only occasionally out of his white lab coat. He had short gray hair, small hazel eyes and tan skin. And he was always friendly.

"Gwendolyn!" he exclaimed, putting out his hand. "I hope you're not here because you're hurt!"

Gwen shook his hand. "More like I'm being forced to come here."

Fred laughed. "Well, come with me."

He led her into the nearest room. There weren't any "check-up" rooms seeing as most people that arrived in the medical ward were normally injured by something.

Fred closed the door behind them as Gwen sat on the bed. He took a chair and pulled it up next to her, turning it around so that the back faced her and sat on it.

"So," he said, "why are you being forced to be here."

"I have a cold and Tony and Steve think I'm gonna die."

Fred laughed loudly, obviously thinking this was insane just as she did.

"Well, I guess I could give you some generic medicine you could buy at Walmart if you'd like."

"No thanks, I think I'm good. At least they'll stop bugging me now."

"Glad I could help!"

Fred got up and made his way for the door, Gwen following.

"Hey, doctor?" she asked. "D'you happen to know where Bruce is?"

"He should be in the lounge with Hank."

"Thanks."

They both left the room, Fred going back to his office. Gwen made her way down a hall to where the lounge was. She had never been in there before as it was sort of like a teacher's lounge in a school. It was a place where the medical crew would hang out for breaks or if they were bored. Seeing as Gwen was not a member of this crew, she didn't have a need to go in it. However, she had a question for Bruce and wanted it answered.

Gwen opened the door to find a small room. There was a counter on the far right with gray cabinets above a coffee maker and a sink. There was a fridge next to this all which looked very high-tec. There were two light blue couches that matched the carpeting and a round glass table in the center. One of the couches was occupied by both Bruce and Hank. There were folders and documents spread out on the table and Bruce was looking over them with his glasses perched upon his nose.

"Hey, Gwendolyn," said Hank as he watched her come in.

"Hi," she replied. She sat down on the other couch. "How are the patients."

"Stable," answered Bruce. "They're a lot better than we thought they would be. But that might be a bad thing."

"How so?"

"It could mean if there is something wrong with them, we won't know until it goes bad."

"I see...a lot like me, huh?"

Bruce smiled and nodded. "Exactly. By the way, how're you doing on your medication?"

"I have about five pills left. I think that'll get me past Easter."

"That is if Stark doesn't throw a party," muttered Hank.

"He's still on that?"

"Since he couldn't have that costume party for Halloween, he wants to have an Easter party."

"What's he gonna do? Dress up as a bunny?"

"It's Stark. He'll probably do that and then get drunk and fall out a window or something."

Gwen couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her lips. She loved talking with Hank as he always said funny things without even realizing it.

"So Bruce", said Gwen, "how do you know Elizabeth Ross?"

Bruce looked down at his papers. "We just knew each other."

"Yeah, I got that. I want to know how."

"We knew each other before any of this."

"What he's trying to say," said Hank, "is that he finds her highly attractive and has for a while and is very pleased to be with her again."

Bruce looked up at Hank. "Thanks for the support." He looked down again. "The only problem is she lost her memory."

"Oh, Bruce," said Gwen, "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I'm sure I can help her."

* * *

"Are you sure this is safe?" asked Steve as he looked at the dangerous device Tony had pointed at Gwen the previous day. The two of them were in one of Tony's many labs. It seemed that because he was the reason the building was standing, he was allowed to have as many labs as he wanted.

"When am I not safe?" replied Tony.

"Most of the time."

"Oh, come on, Cap. It's not gonna kill you to do it."

"Are you sure?"

"Eh, eighty percent positive."

"That's not very reassuring."

"Would you rather I lie?"

Steve sighed. "I feel bad for not staying with Gwen."

"Hey there, you're changing the subject."

"She looked terrified."

"I feel like we're having two separate conversations here."

Steve looked up at Tony. "Why are we so concerned about her cold again?"

"Because," said Tony, removing the safety glasses he was wearing, "Gwenie never gets sick."

"She said she once had pneumonia."

"Okay, so maybe a few things here and there, but she never gets colds."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that this can't just be a cold."

"So you think it's something more?"

"I've seen her white blood cell count. It's perfect. Her immune system is perfect. She would be over this cold by now."

"Then what's wrong with her?"

Tony sighed. "I don't know. And seeing as she's so stubborn, we'll probably never know until she's unconscious."

"Very true," agreed Steve, knowing fully well that Gwen was the most stubborn person on the planet. He was just hoping it wouldn't be the death of her.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Hello everyone! Not much to say today.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Don't worry, Peter's back in this chapter!**

**pocahunta: You'll have to wait to find out muahahahaha.**

**DragonQuill6913: Basically Tony has access to Gwen's medical records which includes what Fred got when he drew blood from all of the Avengers :)**

**Wolflihood: Man, I wish haha. But unfortunately no. Maybe one day...**

**Lena Sauran: Why do I cause characters so much pain D:**

**MysticRyter: I UNDERSTOOD THAT REFERENCE! I want her to get her memory back too. He does need love.**

**Itsgoose2u: Bruce truly is adorable. I see him as being incredibly romantic for some reason haha.**

**Justasmalltwomgirl2713: Hahaha Steve's just there. He's an okay lad.**

**Guest: I hope this does not disappoint!**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Yay! I'm not ashamed to say I cried when they lined up the cranes for him haha. Don't worry, Peter's back in this chapter and the next one. I will tell you that him and Gwen (my Gwen) become very good friends so he'll be more of a major character.**

**StarViky: Thanks! I hope you enjoy the movie as much as I did!**

**AngelVamp6688: Iron Man 3 is going to be the last one? D: SAD FACE. That's really depressing. At least we'll still have Avengers 2.**

**morbidly-funny: Thanks! I honestly have no idea haha. I guess I just write fast.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The sixty-first floor of Avengers Tower was what Tony called "The Floor of Many Offices." Obviously, all offices were on this floor. Almost everyone had one. Some people, like Steve and Natasha, didn't require an office space. However, some people, like Gwen and Luke, needed it more than others.

Gwen spent most of her day in her office. There were some rooms that were left almost untouched like Hank's and Bruce's seeing as they both had a whole floor to themselves. But Gwen wasn't a scientist and therefore had no use of a lab. Computers were her speciality and it just so happened to be the reason she was hired by Tony to work at Stark Industries. But now that she worked for SHIELD in Avengers Tower, he had her back doing the same thing; working with the security systems and servers.

Gwen had immediately jumped at the opportunity to do this, excited by the idea of working with computers again. She had missed it a lot as an agent and was oddly comforted by the electronic.

Gwen stepped out of the elevator onto the hardwood floor. The hall stretched out before her, several halls coming out from the main one. The walls were painted a light green and always felt very warm for some weird reason. She certainly liked this place better than the SHIELD base in Chicago, that was for sure.

She continued down the hall, taking the first right and then putting in the password before going in the only door down that hall. Her office was big, just like all of the others. The far wall was made of a window which constantly distracted Gwen if she wasn't careful. Each office was personalized to each person. Gwen had the hardwood floor continue into hers as she liked the sound of her shoes against it while Daisy's was carpeted because she enjoyed being barefoot. The walls in Gwen's office was a dark blue and were mainly clear of anything like pictures or bulletin boards.

And, like every office, there was a desk. Gwen's was different as it was almost like three desks. There was one in front of the window wall and it had two more coming out of each side at an angle. In the center was a regular laptop that Gwen requested she have while there were two monitors on either side of it that were touch screen.

There was also a couch and a coffee table on the right side of the room. This is where Steve generally went when he came into her office out of boredom and bugged her by asking all sorts of questions. She loved Steve dearly, but he couldn't understand that she didn't like to be bothered when she worked. So what she did was give him a book or have him watch a movie on the television on the other side of the room to keep him occupied like a little kid.

Gwen passed the couch and sat down in the lovely leather chair that Tony so graciously gave her. She had to admit, it was a fantastic chair. She opened up the laptop and turned it on while the monitors booted up. As she typed in her password of "mischief managed" her door opened. She never locked it while she was in there, feeling it was pointless.

In walked Daisy, barefooted as usual wearing her now trademark skinny jeans and a t-shirt that had a picture of the band Paramore on it.

"I'm so tired!" she exclaimed while sitting down on the floor in front of Gwen's desk.

"Then take a nap," she suggested.

"I hate naps," said Daisy.

"Then there's really nothing I can do."

"I know...I'm just a bit loopy from running on three hours of sleep."

"Why only three?"

"Because tumblr."

"I...see..." Gwen honestly could not relate to this.

"I'll just lay on your floor until I die."

"You do that."

The laptop finally finished turning on and Gwen turned to the monitor on her right.

"JARVIS," she said, "can you bring up last week's history of who was in the weapons vault?"

"Yes, Agent Rogers."

Gwen could see Daisy out of the corner of her eye, just peeking over the top of the desk. All Gwen could see was her eyes and the top of her head.

"What?" asked the blonde with a shrug. She could see the corner of Daisy's eyes crinkle and assumed she was smiling.

"That's so cute."

"What?"

"You're Mrs. Rogers. You're Mr. and Mrs. Rogers." A light bulb went off over Daisy's head as she took in a loud breath and pounded her palm on the surface of the desk.

"Calm down," said Gwen, suppressing a laugh at her friend's weird behavior.

"You guys are like that movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt and what's-her-face!"

"Angelina Jolie?"

"Whatever, my point is we should do a movie about you guys!"

"I'm not much of an actress..."

"Darcy and I could work it all put. Oh my God, I have to share this with her."

Before Gwen could protest, Daisy shot up and ran out the door.

Gwen shook her head and turned back to the monitor as JARVIS pulled up the log of people that were granted access into the Avengers Tower weapons vault. But something was off about it. According to the log, the door was accessed seven times, but opened eight.

"JARVIS, bring up the security footage both inside and outside the weapons vault for last week," Gwen ordered. "Fast forward to each time the door opened."

"Of course."

She watched the right monitor as two screens popped up and she watched as people went in and out of the weapons vault. It was more of an armory, really. Guns and explosives were stacked in there while the more dangerous stuff was on the SHIELD Helicarrier. Anything even more dangerous sat in the weapons vault on Asgard were it was heavily guarded.

Gwen watched as seven people went in and out. She knew that they all had access to this room and there was nothing suspicious about it all. Gwen couldn't even find the eighth time the door opened. She looked back at the log and saw it had been at one o'clock in the afternoon last Wednesday.

"Oh my God," she muttered to herself, letting her head fall on her desk with a thump. That had been the right after Volstagg had come to find out how things were going. That meant someone could have possibly entered the Earth's atmosphere at the same time therefore causing no alarm. And whoever this was went into the weapons vault completely unnoticed.

"Was anything taken?" asked Gwen.

"Everything is accounted for," answered JARVIS.

"What is the current pass code?"

"4721-702."

"Alright. Change it and make sure no one but those allowed in know about it. Send all of this data to Fury, he'll want to know about this. Make sure it's classified. If there's someone hiding around here, I don't want them finding out we're watching."

"Yes, Agent Powers."

* * *

It wasn't until lunch time that someone interrupted her. Gwen didn't even notice Steve coming in as she was far too concerned about the weapons vault to see him. So when he put a hand on her shoulder, she jumped.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, backing up.

"It's my fault," laughed Gwen, a hand instinctively over her heart as if this would slow it down.

"I just came to remind you to go to lunch with me."

Gwen shook her head. "I'm not that hungry."

"You need to eat, Gwen."

"But work!"

"It'll be here when you come back."

"Fine."

When Gwen stood up he kissed her which effectively took her mind off of work. She kissed him back as she melted into his touch. He pulled back with a smile and took her hand, leading her out of her office and into the hall. They then took the elevator to the forty-fifth floor.

The forty-fifth floor was the designated cafeteria. It was large, a bit too large for Gwen's liking, but offered a big variety of food. Tony hadn't been too keen on the idea of people going to the penthouse for food and therefore came up with the idea of a cafeteria.

Daisy and Darcy were sitting at a table together, most likely discussing Mr. and Mrs. Rogers movie plans. Pepper, Jane and Natasha sat together and Gwen was slightly hoping that they wouldn't see her as she knew they'd ask her about what was going to happen about the honeymoon for Gwen didn't even know herself. They would probably ask really awkward questions as well. Then there was Tony, Hank and Luke where Steve seemed to be taking her. She didn't mind being the only female at the table as long as no awkward subjects were brought up.

"Hey, buttercup," greeted Tony once Gwen and Steve had gotten their food and sat down at the table. "Did you see Gould?"

"Yes," answered Gwen knowing that Tony already knew the answer. "He said I'm fine."

"Right." Tony stretched out the word unnecessarily.

"Well, if you're so unhappy about me being fine, then why don't you just do a test on me."

"I will."

"I was being sarcastic."

"Doesn't matter. Challenge accepted."

"Challenge revoked."

"You're no fun."

"By the way, where's Bruce?"

"With Ross," answered Hank.

"Isn't he going to eat?" asked Luke.

"He eats with her."

"Oh, man," said Tony, "I thought you said he eats her." He threw his arms up in the air. "Actual cannibal Bruce Banner!"

Hank ignored him. "He's trying to help her remember things."

"This sucks," blurted Tony.

"What?" asked Steve.

"Banner and I were supposed to test some modified thrusters for my suit today but ever since she showed up he's been focusing on her."

"Tony," said Gwen slowly, "it's been two days. If you're going to he jealous, wait like a few weeks."

"I'm not jealous."

"If that wasn't jealousy," said Luke, "then Rogers is Captain Canada."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Funny, Cage. You're full of jokes today, aren't you?"

"Before I forget," said Steve who was sensing an argument brewing, "I ran into Fury on my way to get Gwen."

"That must've sucked."

Steve ignored Tony. "He says we're supposed to all meet in the conference room at four today. He didn't say why."

"Leave it to Fury to tell us to do something and then not tell us why. You know what? We should rebel. We should get, like, those gummy eyeballs they sell at Halloween and throw them at him during meetings."

Gwen sighed. It was going to be a long lunch.

* * *

Peter walked through the halls feeling better than he had the day before. He was incredibly curious to find out what this Nick Fury wanted with him. The idea of joining the Avengers was actually pretty cool. Maybe he'd be able to find the robber that shot uncle Ben easier.

"Peter?"

He turned around to see Gwen Stacy smiling at him.

"Uh, Gwen, hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi," she answered. "Um, do you like fish?"

Peter paused. "Fish?"

"Yeah, fish"

"Oh, yeah, that's - I love it."

"Good. My mom's having it tomorrow night for dinner. You're welcome to come."

"That'd be - yeah, I'd love to."

"Great." Gwen handed him a piece of paper. "That's the address. Be there at eight."

"Sounds good."

Gwen smiled before turning around and walking away while Peter stood there watching her. He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned when he realized his hand was now stuck to his skin.

* * *

At around four o'clock, Gwen turned off her computers, grabbed her bag and headed to the elevator. It seemed she was the only one on this floor at the time, so she was alone in going to the conference room. When she got there, Steve was talking with Luke and she sat down next to the soldier.

Fury walked in, followed by Phil and a new face. It was a scrawny teenage boy with brown hair and eyes. He looked around at them all, his eyes wide at the sight. His gaze fell on Tony and he blinked as though he wasn't expecting this.

"Ladies and gentlemen, meet our new recruit," said Fury. "Peter Parker."

Everyone said hello to Peter and Gwen wondered why this boy was here.

"What does he do?" asked Tony bluntly.

"Mr. Parker was bitten by a spider. I think it's safe to say it wasn't a normal spider."

"Fury, could you just give us a good answer for once?"

Fury sighed and shook his head. "He can do spider like things."

"Can you spin webs?" asked Daisy after gasping in fascination.

"Uh, no," answered Peter awkwardly. "I, uh - I'm working on that."

Steve leaned over to Gwen and whispered to her. "I read an obituary in the paper the day about a Ben Parker. He got shot. It said he and his wife raised their nephew Peter."

Gwen looked up at boy with sympathy now.

"Mr. Parker, this is Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, Bruce Banner, Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Luke Cage, Daisy Johnson, Steve Rogers, Gwendolyn Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. These are the East Coast Avengers. You're now a part of this team."

Peter frowned. "I haven't even done anything though."

"You will Parker," said Fury. "I expect you back here this Saturday. You're all dismissed."

Fury and Phil then strode out of the room.

"Don't mind him," said Tony getting up. "He's a bit of a slug in my opinion." Tony put his arm around Peter's shoulders and started to lead him out of the room. "Come, my new friend. Let me show you around my marvelous tower. By the way, do you like shawarma?"

* * *

**I know that Peter/Gwen scene in the middle there isn't exactly like in the movie because I can't remember everything exactly. I also know that other things happen in the movie before this, but I'm putting in some similar scenes. If any of you can give me what they actually said, that'd be great.**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Hello everyone! Sorry that this is more of a filler chapter again. Action will be coming soon. By the way, I'm sorry if I don't post tomorrow. I have my road test and I'm terrified.**

**O. O TT. TT LOLz: Time for an intervention for Tony.**

**MysticRyter: Haha I had to explain it to my parents too. My mom thought it was funny, but my dad thought it was weird.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Thanks! I put that scene in here. It doesn't fit as great because Peter doesn't have his suit yet, but I couldn't help myself.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! Bruce kind of reminds me of Steve romantic wise haha.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Oh man, I should've put that in there! I might still be able to, but I'm not sure. And thanks!**

**LiebenMadchan: I know, sorry haha. I didn't mean for that to happen. It'll all work out in the end though. And thanks!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: I KNOOOOOOW GOOD LORD he's so great.**

**Peace and Blessings: I'm terribly sorry then!**

**Nerdsandmustaches: As much as I love superfamily, it won't happen haha. But I expect that Tony will take Peter under his wing.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I'm glad you liked the chapter so much haha! That crane scene was just so perfect. I NEED to include something like that in this story. I can't even. I've lost the ability to even. I think you'll like it when Peter comes back to the tower. However, it isn't in this chapter.**

**StarViky: Thank you very much!**

**Livea: Wow, thanks! Never thought I'd be considered that haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

After Tony, as well as Bruce and Hank, had taken it upon themselves to reel Peter into their science bromance group, Gwen and Steve went home. Gwen made the two of them dinner which they ate and discussed the days events. However, Gwen couldn't help but let her mind wander to the weapons vault. She knew Steve had access to it, but never used it. She knew he'd get notification of a new pass code, but it really wouldn't matter. Gwen had a tendency to change them out of paranoia. Therefore he probably wouldn't bring it up and Gwen wouldn't either.

Steve cleaned the dishes while Gwen went into the office space they had in the house to check on the security systems. It seemed there wasn't anything else unusual that went on. Gwen shook her head at how she was freaking out about this all. JARVIS would tell her if something more happened.

"Is something wrong?"

Gwen turned around from the dresser in their bedroom where as was now brushing her hair.

"No, why?" she asked Steve.

"You've been brushing through the same spot for the past five minutes."

"It's tangly."

Steve sighed and walked over to her. He pushed her hair behind her ears and pulled her face towards his. His lips gently touched hers in a comforting way. Gwen half expected him to bring up her cold. Actually, she was tempted to bring it up herself. She didn't want him getting sick. But before she could say anything, Steve was kissing again and deeply. It quickly turned into one of those rare moments where they were finally not interrupted.

* * *

Gwen was woken up the next morning by Steve who laughed when she groaned and muttered curse words into her pillow in protest to waking up. She was incredibly tired and was far too embarrassed to admit it out loud.

She got dressed quickly and Steve drove them to the Tower like always. Once in the elevator, Steve selected the floor with the gym on while Gwen selected the office floor. Steve's stop was first and he gave Gwen a long kiss before she shooed him out, reminding him that JARVIS was watching and a lot of people could access security footage. He rolled his eyes and stepped out, leaving Gwen alone and smiling to herself.

Once on her floor, Gwen stepped out and went down to her office. Once she entered, she saw there was a piece of paper on the floor that had been slid through the bottom of the door. On it was a note from Bruce.

_Gwendolyn,_

_Could you please come to the medical ward when you can? I have a favor to ask of you. And don't worry, I'm not freaking out about your cold. This isn't about that._

_Bruce_

Gwen read the note over a few times before leaving her office and going back to the elevator. She selected the medical ward and waited to arrive on the correct floor.

When Gwen stepped out of the elevator, she was immediately in the presence of Bruce and Fred. The two were talking by the counter, Fred still in his scrubs and lab coat. Gwen wondered if he actually owned a set of regular street clothes or if he even left this floor.

She approached the two men who sensed her presence. She smiled at them, both of them retuning the gesture.

"What d'you need help with?" asked Gwen.

"Well," said Bruce, "we have an idea."

"And what is that idea?"

"We were just hoping you could talk to the patients," said Fred. "We fear Janet may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and we know you've gone through something similar."

"So you want me to act as a therapist?"

"In a way. We also think you'll be able some information from them if they're comfortable with talking to you. Or maybe even help Betty get some of her memories back."

"Alright."

"Come with me," ordered Bruce.

Gwen followed him to one of the hospital rooms. He turned to her before letting her in.

"Betty is in this one," he told her. "Janet's in that one." He pointed to the room next to it. "Once you're done talking to Betty just knock on the door and go in there."

"Okay," answered Gwen.

Bruce nodded and opened the door allowing Gwen to step over the threshold. She heard the door close behind her.

In front of her sat Betty reading a book. It was the first time Gwen had seen her awake and she could easily tell that the woman was doing better.

"Hi," said Gwen. "Um, I'm Agent Gwendolyn Rogers."

"I'm Betty Ross," answered Betty with a kind smile.

"Bruce asked me to talk to you. I mean, to see if-"

"You could help me get my memories back?"

Gwen smiled. "Exactly."

"I apologize, but I don't know if you can help. Bruce has been trying everything."

Gwen sat down in a nearby chair. "Has anything worked?"

"No. I am remembering some things though. It just randomly comes back to me."

"What do you remember?"

Betty furrowed her brow. "I remember mostly things that happened before any of this. I think I was out the entire time I was in that facility. But I remember my dad, I remember things from when I was a kid, and I remember Bruce's face. Nothing more than his face." She paused for a moment. "I think I remember a feeling when I see his face in my mind."

"Can you describe it?"

"No, not really. But it's there."

"What is the most recent thing you can remember before waking up here?"

"I remember making coffee. That's it."

Gwen nodded. "Thank you for telling me all of this. I'm sure you'll get your memories back in time."

"Your welcome. I wish I could be of more help."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

With one last thank you, Gwen said goodbye to Betty and left the room. She then made her way to the one next to it.

Gwen knocked on the door and heard a woman's voice call, "Come in!"

Gwen opened the door and walked inside to see Janet sitting up and looking great. She looked like she could go out and run a marathon.

"Hi, Janet," said Gwen. "My name's Agent Gwendolyn Rogers. I was one of the people that found you."

"Thanks for getting me out of there," said Janet.

"No problem."

Gwen pulled up a nearby chair and placed it next to Janet's bed. She then sat down in it.

"I was asked to talk to you about what happened in that facility."

"Are you a therapist?"

"No, I've just gone through some bad things myself."

Janet sighed. "What d'you want to know?"

"How did they take you?"

"I was on my way to work. I work where my father used to. It's secret stuff. I wasn't paying attention and walked into this guy. He dropped a stack of papers he was carrying and they blew into an alley, so I went down it to catch them. The next thing I knew I was waking up in this hospital like room. Except I was pretty sure it wasn't a hospital. My whole body felt different, like something had been done to me. I don't know what though. This guy came in and talked while these supposed doctors tested me.

"What did this man look like?"

"I didn't see him. He sounded German though. But theses tests weren't regular tests. They poked me with needles, shocked me, did all sorts of weird experiment type things."

Gwen's breath caught in her throat. This was very disturbing. Memories flashed in her mind as she thought about what happened to her as a child. Janet's story sounded oddly similar to what Gwen went through. This definitely wasn't good.

"Thank you," said Gwen. "You've been a big help."

"Glad I'm of some use."

* * *

Baron von Strucker laughed as he sat in front of his monitors. His plan had worked perfectly. He knew SHIELD would know where the AIM base was. He had made sure of this. That way Fury would send some people there and they would find van Dyne and Ross. Then they'd take them to the SHIELD base and Baron would track them. After that it was a piece of cake.

The man stood up as he made his way out of the computer room. He walked down the halls of the new base until he reached the exit where his troops were getting ready. The next day was going to be his day of triumph.

"Mr. von Strucker," said an approaching agent. He was already dressed in his yellow hazmat like uniform. "The Adaptoid is secure in the aircraft. The missiles are also ready."

Baron smiled. "Gud. By tomorrow ve vill hafe Gwendolyn Powers and our new pet and ve vill hafe keeled Captain America. Finish getting zee troops ready."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

On the rainbow bridge, Fandral got off his horse and strutted towards the Bifrost. He was happy to visit Midgard and see Darcy again, making his normally arrogant aura even more arrogant. His sword was sheathed on his belt and clinked as he approached Heimdall. The Gatekeeper had on his usual poker face and his sword was pointed downwards in his hands.

"It is time for a trip to Midgard yet again," greeted Fandral.

"I cannot do that," answered Heimdall's deep voice.

Fandral stopped in his tracks.

"W-what?" he asked with a scoff.

"By the orders of King Odin All-Father, the Bifrost is closed."

"Since when did he order this? Why were we not informed? Do the mortals know?"

"You will return to the palace and speak to no one of this. You will tell them that all is fine in Midgard. Is that understood?"

Fandral calmed down and nodded. "It is. I will speak to no one of this. All is fine in Midgard."

He said no more as he turned around and climbed back on his horse to begin riding back to the palace. However, Heimdall walked into his observatory to find, surprisingly, another Heimdall laying on the ground and out of sight. The Heimdall that was awake shifted his appearance until he became woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes.

The real Heimdall awoke and stood up. Amora handed over his sword which he took without saying a word.

"You are to forget this ever happened," she told him.

"I will forget this ever happened," he repeated.

Amora smiled. "Good."

She watched as Heimdall passed her and took his place in front of the door once more. Step one was complete.

* * *

Gwen found herself disturbed that night. She couldn't shake that odd feeling that what AIM did to Janet seemed so similar to what those doctors did to Gwen. Was it possible that it was all connected? It would've been a small world moment, but it was possible.

"Gwen!"

The blonde jumped from her spot from the kitchen table and looked up at Steve who was looking at her with concern.

"What?" she asked.

"I've only said your name like, fifty times," he said.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Maybe you should get some sleep."

"No, it's fine."

"Don't make me drag you."

Gwen sighed and got up. Steve followed her in order to make sure she changed into her sleepwear and crawled into bed.

"It isn't fair if you're not going to be either," whined Gwen as she watched him go for the door.

"I'm not the sick one here."

"I'm not sick."

As if timing where against her in that moment, she had a coughing fit. Groaning once she caught her breath, Gwen flopped herself on her back.

"I hate this," she said.

She heard footsteps approached the other side of the bed and felt it weight down by the body of Steve. She turned her head as he laid down next to her. Gwen immediately curled up next to him, her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her frame in response.

"I'll take care of you," Steve told her. "You'll get better and Stark and I will stop bugging you."

"You guys should form a 'Concerned For Gwendolyn's Wellbeing' club."

Steve laughed. "I could be the president."

Gwen remained quiet as she listened to his breathing. Steve strokes her hair comfortingly simply held her close.

"You're too good for me," Gwen thought out loud before thinking about it.

"How so?"

"You're just so...perfect. I mean, you can be a complete idiot, but still."

There was a pause and then Steve started laughing so hard Gwen could've sworn he was crying.

"Me?" managed to choke out. "Perfect?"

Gwen sat up so she could see his face. His mouth was stretched into a large smile and his eyes were sparkling.

"You're much better than me!" she exclaimed.

"Gwen, honey," said Steve, still laughing as he grabbed her hands in his, "I am far from perfect. I get jealous, protective-"

"And that's natural human behavior!"

He pulled her down to him and kisses her. One of his hands grabbed her face to stop her from pulling away.

"No human is perfect," he whispered to her. "But I love you no matter what."

Now smiling, Gwen kissed him again.

* * *

Peter was nervous as he easily climbed up the fire escape to Gwen Stacy's place of residence. There were now devices on his arms that he had perfected the day before at Avengers Tower. Tony named them web-slingers. Peter stopped at the appropriate window and inside he could see Gwen. He knocked on it, scaring her slightly. She smiled as she got up and approached the window. She opened it up to let him inside.

"How did you get out there?" she asked.

"Fire escape," he answered.

"It's twenty stories."

"Your doorman's intimidating."

She moved back to let him in. Peter held his bag in front of him.

"Is your suit in there?" asked Gwen.

"What?"

"Your suit for dinner."

Man, thought Peter, if I'm an Avenger I need to get a suit.

All Peter had was a red mask that he was going to wear in order to track down the robber that killed Uncle Ben.

The door to Gwen's bedroom opened suddenly and Peter felt very awkward as George Stacy stood before him. It probably wasn't good that he and Gwen had been alone in her bedroom.

"Dad," said Gwen, "this is Peter Parker."

"Yeah," George answered, eyeing Peter suspiciously.

"Nice to meet you, sir," said Peter who was feeling very awkward.

It wasn't long before Peter was seated with the Stacy family. He attempted to cut the fish on the plate before him. Peter looked up and saw that one of Gwen's brothers was wearing a t-shirt under his button down top. On this t-shirt was a large "A."

"D'you like the Avengers?" Peter asked the boy.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "Who doesn't? Except dad."

Peter turned to George who was rolling his eyes.

"You don't like them?" asked Peter.

"They nearly destroyed both New York City and Washington D. C. Tony Stark must be paying to keep people quiet or something."

"But they've saved a lot of lives."

"That's what the police are for."

"I think they might be doing what the police can't."

George looked at him with an "Are you kidding me?" expression. "Can't?"

Gwen laughed awkwardly as if to relieve the tension that had suddenly made its appearance.

"They're all technically superheroes. Sometimes you need superheroes."

"They are not superheroes. They are just a bunch of people playing dress-up."

"Just because they wear tight suits doesn't mean they're playing dress-up. I mean, what could the police do when an extraterrestrial attack occurs?"

Gwen cleared her throat. Peter stopped talking as they all ate in an uncomfortable silence. But Peter didn't care if George didn't like the Avengers. The teenager stifled a laugh as he wondered what would happen once he found out what Peter really was.

* * *

**Okay, so I loved the dinner scene in the movie, so that's why I had to change it up and put it in here. I'm sorry that the dialogue is really off. I wrote it from what I remember and I also changed it. Once again, if anyone knows the scene better than I do, don't be afraid to say anything. I did, however, cut out the kiss scene for now seeing as Peter isn't Spider-Man yet. Just bear with me here. It'll happen.**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Thanks for wishing me luck guys, but I unfortunately...PASSED. Psych. I am now a licensed driver. Weee. Now for a chapter. And don't hurt me if you get angry. Be angry with AIM.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Thanks! I was totally worried about that scene. I had like no memory of what happened haha.**

**MysticRyter: Wee! Oh man. That sucks. I probably would've cried haha.**

**Guest: Don't we all wanna snuggle him? haha.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! Haha, I would be too. I get really impatient when I'm following a good story.**

**Livea: Yay! I hope you sleep well!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: I was thinking of you when I wrote that haha. I just had to get that in there.**

**ImmaEnforcer: Thanks! It is a really funny scene. Then Peter and Gwen get caught kissing by her mother. It's great. And then I think The Lizard attacks a bridge, but I can't remember.**

**morbidly-funny: Thanks! It went a lot better than I thought it would!**

**AngelVamp6688: You're gonna feel a lot worse for Gwen soon haha. And Steve too. Man, I'm really evil in the coming chapters.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Totally true haha. AIM should be so easy to defeat. Or are they? I loved that scene too. After Peter gets his suit I'm putting in that thief scene haha. I love it so much.**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Once the troops were ready, Baron hopped into his personal jet where he would be flying in after the destruction. The other aircrafts had already left for New York as Baron sat in his seat, one leg crossed over the other. A glass of wine sat in his hand as he watched the news, waiting for the coverage that would tell him the plan succeeded. He wore a light gray suit with a blue tie. In the background of the jet, Lacrimosa by Mozart was playing softly.

"Why are we not leaving?" asked an irritated voice beside Baron.

"Patience, MODOC," said Baron, tapping his foot in the air to the tempo of the piece. "Ve vill get zere."

"I don't think this will be a success," answered MODOK. He frowned in his hovering chair.

"And vy not?" Baron turned to look at his creation. "Ve vill hafe Gwendolyn Powers by zee end of zee day. You hafe seen zee x-rays. You know zat she is capable of much."

"That shield isn't the only thing you want, is it?"

Baron laughed. "Vell, I must zay zat it is pure coincidence zat she happens to be in a relationship vith Captain America."

"According to my data, they're married now."

Baron chuckled. "Efen better."

A cell phone began ringing and Baron reached into his pocket. He pressed the answer button and placed the phone at his ear.

"Are you zere?" was all he said.

"We are," answered the agent on the other line.

"And zee missiles?"

"Being fired now."

"Gud. Send in zee Adaptoid once an opening is made."

Without a goodbye, Baron pressed the end button and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"MODOC, my friend," he continued, "ve are going to do some great things together, some great things."

What Baron didn't notice was that MODOK was thinking of a plan. One that Baron certainly wouldn't like.

* * *

Gwen found herself wandering towards the weapons vault the next day. She was curious to see if she could find anything that might be suspicious.

What she didn't expect was to run into Peter Parker.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" asked Gwen.

"I gotta free track."

Gwen nodded. "What are you doing here then?"

"I was, uh, wondering if there was a place that I could test out my web-slingers."

Gwen raised her eyebrows. "Web-slingers?"

"That's what Mr. Stark called named them."

"I know just the place."

One elevator ride later, Gwen brought Peter to one of the training rooms. This one had full sized dummies in it and she couldn't help but think this would be of great use to him.

She watched as Peter held out his arm and did a specific movement with it. And with this movement, a line of web shot out from under his sleeve and covered one of the dummies.

"That is so cool," said Gwen as she watched Peter shoot a web at another practice dummy. She wondered briefly how they were going to clean this all up.

"It kind of reminds me of that silly string stuff," added Peter.

Gwen nodded. "I always hated that stuff. But this is pretty cool."

"So, um, you guys are going to help me find out information on my parents, right?"

"Of course," answered Gwen. "What happened to them anyway?"

"They left when I was very young."

"I'm so sorry. Both of my parents died a few years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. At least there's hope that yours are still alive."

"Yeah, I guess."

There was a bit of silence for a moment before Peter spoke again.

"So let me get this straight. Tiny Stark is Iron Man, Bruce Banner is the Hulk and who are the others?"

"Steve is Captain America," supplied Gwen.

"That makes sense. Wait, didn't that Fury guy say that your last name is Rogers?"

Gwen nodded. "We got married this past Sunday."

"Oh, congratulations."

"Thanks. Natasha's code name is Black Widow. Hank doesn't have a name yet, but he can shrink to the size of an ant. He can also talk to them. Daisy is called Quake by Tony a lot and I think others are starting to as well. She can produce vibrations in the ground. Luke was experimented on after being arrested under a false charge. Jane is an astrophysicist and also in a relationship with the Thor, the Norse god of thunder."

"You're joking."

"Not at all. Darcy is Jane's friend and is finishing up college here. We all think she's dating an Asgsrdian warrior named Fandral. Then there's a few people at the West Coast Avengers Tower. Clint Barton is Hawkeye, he's a really good archer. Then there's his wife, Barbara, who's code name is Mockingbird, Rhodey is War Machine and flies a suit like Tony's and then there's the astrophysicist Erik Selvig. Oh, and there's Stephen Strange. He's in our Atlantis base."

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Atlantis?"

"I know, it's weird."

"What d'you do?"

"I have this shield around my brain and when I control it I can manipulate energy around me."

"You guys have quite, um, a party going on here."

Gwen smiled. "You'll get used to it."

* * *

An aircraft hovered outside Avengers Tower. It wasn't too close to be picked up on their radar, but it was close enough do they could target what they wanted.

"Where should we fire the missiles?" asked the pilot.

"Go for the fiftieth and sixtieth floors," answered the co-pilot, checking his own radar. "We'll take this jet up to the sixtieth floor to let the Adaptoid loose. The other jet will go and capture our objective."

The pilot grabbed the joystick in front of him as a targeting system showed up on the window in front of him. It automatically searched for the requested floors and began beeping loudly when it was locked on.

"Firing," stated the pilot. He pressed his gloved thumb on the red button upon the joystick and heard as the two missiles attached the jet were released. The agents inside the jet watched as the missiles zoomed through the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind them. They hit their designated targets and exploded. There was fire and smoke coming from the impact and debris fell to the ground. As the smoke began to clear away, holes in the Tower could be seen, just big enough for the jets to let the people out.

"Let's go," muttered the co-pilot.

* * *

The Tower shook and Gwen looked around in fright. It could've possibly been someone having an accident in one of the labs, but it sounded like it was on the floor she as Peter were on. It was strictly a training floor and the only explosions would be in the designated destruction .

"Agent Rogers, Mr. Parker, I have detected two missile attacks on the Tower," stated JARVIS.

"Missiles?" repeated Peter.

"I suggest you both evacuate immediately."

"The hell to evacuating."

Gwen quickly ran after Peter who was walking out into the hall. She could immediately smell smoke from the explosions.

"Peter," she hissed, "we should go!"

But the teenager didn't listen to her. She followed him down the hall and the smoke began to get even thicker. Out nowhere, something came out and struck her in the head. Gwen felt dizzy and her vision was blurry as she fell to the ground. She groaned and looked up to see several people coming at them wearing yellow hazmat like suits. One of them was shot by Peter's webs and hit the wall. Gwen desperately tried to get up and draw some energy, but she didn't even have energy for herself.

As Peter shot webs at everyone he could, Gwen saw it was useless. The men approached him as he punched and kicked, but the man that held him stuck a small needle in his neck and Peter's eyes closed as he fell limp.

Gwen tried to scream for JARVIS to help them, but she wasn't even sure if he was operational. Besides, she couldn't make a sound as something got stabbed into her own neck and everything went black.

* * *

The Adaptoid walked out of the plane, revealing himself. It was tall and bulk, completely silver and faceless. It walked forward, looking for who it would copy. It decided whoever the first powerful person it came upon would be this choice.

Wasn't it lucky it just happened to be Bruce Banner.

The Adaptoid was only ten feet away from the doctor who was walking along and talking to a screen. He looked worried, obviously having heard the commotion. Within seconds, the Adaptoid's appearance changed. It actually developed a look and that look was of Bruce. It wore the same purple button down shirt and glasses as the real man. But none of that really mattered. The Adaptoid hadn't liked Bruce for the real man.

By command, the Adaptoid let itself become the Hulk. It's shirt ripped off and it's pants ripped into shorts. It yelled like any Hulk would, which made Bruce stop in his tracks. Turning around to face an exact replica of the other guy, Bruce had no time to Hulk out himself before the Adaptoid charged and flung out its arm. The green log sized arm struck Bruce and sent him flying into a wall, effectively knocking him, and the Hulk within him, unconscious.

Satisfied, the Adaptoid turned to go find a change of clothes and turned back into the form of Bruce. Its job, and only job, was to kill Captain America. And to do that, it needed to get close to him. And so that's what it was going to do.

* * *

Steve had heard the explosions and had felt the Tower shake. He had heard the yell. He knew someone had brought out the Hulk and wasn't going to wait to find out. So the first thing he did was race from the gym and to the men's locker room to suit up.

After getting into his star-spangled tights and putting his shield on his back, Steve made his way to where the sound came from.

"Rogers?"

Steve turned to see Bruce walking up to him, his brow furrowed.

"Doctor Banner?" asked Steve. "I thought I heard the Hulk yelling."

"I did too," answered Bruce. "I was coming over here to check it out."

Steve looked around. "I don't see any damage. Maybe it-"

He didn't finish his sentence at the sound of cloth ripping. He turned around and saw Bruce changing into the Hulk. And then he ran.

Steve knew it would be a bad idea to even try to fight the Hulk. He knew what happened to people when they did that. He could hear the Hulk running after him and destroying everything in its path. Something was off. Bruce wasn't one to just randomly hulk out and attack a teammate. There was that one time with Natasha, but that had been right after an explosion and he had been irritated before that. This was out of the blue.

Steve fell to the side as he pushed a door open with his arm as he entered the staircase before the Hulk could see him. Without stopping, Steve ran down the steps in a desperate attempt to get away and find someone.

As he got out on a different floor, Steve turned to look at the elevator. There stood Tony, looking down at his phone. Taking his chance, Steve ran for him.

"Stark!" Steve yelled, diving into the elevator and effectively stopping it from closing.

"Rogers - what the hell?"

Steve stayed on the floor of the elevator trying to catch his breath. He looked up at Tony.

"Something's wrong," Steve said.

"Really? I didn't notice."

"Banner came to talk to me because we heard explosions and the Hulk scream, but then he turned and tried to attack me."

"What?"

"I don't think it's him. Or at least his mind."

"If it isn't him then the real Banner is around here somewhere."

"You go look," ordered Steve. "I'll go warn the others."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Instead of going to suit up, Tony immediately ran for the floor he knew Bruce had been on. He needed to make sure his friend was alright. While making his way down the hall, Tony stopped and his behind a wall when he saw several people wandering around in yellow hazmat suits. He was pretty sure Fury hadn't ordered anyone to wear anything like that.

He peeked around the corner and saw on the back of their uniform read the letters "AIM." How weirdly convenient.

Avoiding the enemy, Tony took a different direction and could see rubble laying around. Why did it always have to be his tower?

Tony finally found the doctor fell down next to Bruce, who was surrounded by pieces of wall and shook his shoulders.

"Wakie-Wakie!" he yelled into the man's face, resisting the urge to slap him awake.

Bruce's eyes flew open and he looked around. He then turned to Tony in alarm.

"Please tell me what just happened didn't happen," said Bruce.

"What happened?"

"I - well I'm not quite sure. I heard the other guy scream, but it wasn't me. I turned around and saw him and he hit me. That's all I remember."

"Well, that fits with Rogers's story," muttered Tony.

"What?"

"He said you approached him but Hulked out and attacked him."

"So obviously there's someone impersonating me running around the Tower."

"Yeah, and it gets better. It's AIM that's attacking."

"Great."

"Come on, Hawking, let's get you up and going."

"How do you know I'm the real Bruce Banner?"

Tony smirked. "Pepper doesn't call us science boyfriends for nothing."

* * *

By command, Bruce let himself hulk out. Tony had already left to suit up himself. The Hulk ran forward, listening to where any screams came from. There was a rumbling sound coming from the floor above, so, because he was the Hulk, he managed to go through he ceiling instead of taking the stairs.

Hulk could see Tony just down the hall who was shooting at something. It was hard to tell as the whole floor seemed destroyed. There was smoke covering the air, but Hulk ran through it all. He saw Tony get hit by something green and he went flying back, unable to use the suit to stop himself in time.

Hulk rushed for Tony, but was hit in the back by something. He went flying forward and turned around once he landed. The fake Hulk was there, yelling at him. The real Hulk charged just as the other did.

"Man," said Tony, "never thought I'd see something like this."

"Stark!"

Tony turned to see Steve running up to him. Tony pushed the rubble off of him and stood up.

"D'you know where Gwen is?" asked the soldier, clearly worried.

"No," answered Tony, "I think she was with Parker though. JARVIS?"

There was no answer.

"Dammit. I need to go reboot JARVIS."

"I'll look for Gwen."

Tony nodded and used the thrusters in his suit to take off for the right part of the building. Screw the steps.

* * *

Both Hulks continued fighting. The real one had no idea of how to stop the fake one. He supposed he could throw him out of the building, but that could cause more damage. Obviously Tony's attacks had done nothing to the rage monster so that was out of the question. What Hulk really needed was a distraction.

"Hey!"

The fake Hulk was suddenly hit by a circular object and turned to see what threw it. His attention shifted to the other being that was present and the real Hulk used this to his advantage. Launching himself forward, he smashed the other Hulk through the wall in hopes there would be something of use on the other side. It seemed luck was on his side that day as the fake Hulk fell right into a new helmet for Hank that was hooked up to several electronic devices.

The real Hulk watched as the fake Hulk was electrocuted. He shook as the electricity coursed through him and became limp once it stopped. He didn't even change back to Bruce. Actually, he changed to something else. It was shaped like a silver man. It had no face nor anything really.

But it didn't matter now. The fake Hulk was gone. But unfortunately, little did they know, so was Gwen and Peter.


	10. Chapter Ten

**A bit of a shorter chapter today. Sorry 'bout that.**

**Lena Sauran: She'll be okay!**

**MysticRyter: HAHAHA OMG that's the funniest typo I've ever had. No, that was a complete accident. omg.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! Oh JARVIS. How I torture him/it so...**

**Arrows the Wolf: They'll be okay! I promise!**

**Amelia St. Claire: Thank you! :D**

**ImmaEnforcer: Haha I know. I'm terrible. And thanks!**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Oh yeah, they'll definitely become good friends. I absolutely love Gwen and Peter being friends. They do really want to kill Steve, but remember this; he will never die. It should be a tradition that Phil does something badass in each installment haha.**

**morbidly-funny: Thanks! I freak myself out about tests too haha. Totally know that feeling.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: DON'T WORRY THEY WON'T DIE. And thank you. OMG THE MOON. DEFYING GRAVITY. OR WHAT LITTLE GRAVITY IS THERE.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

Once it was clear that there were no more hostiles in the area, Hulk change back to Bruce and went to look for some clothing. Tony started JARVIS up again and ordered him to recount everything that happened before he was shut down. Steve went to get out of his suit and was already healing from a scratch he got on his bicep. Natasha and Phil took the surviving AIM agents to some holding cells. Hank visited the site of his now destroyed helmet and with the help of Steve, Tony and Luke managed to move the silver man thing to one of Tony's labs. Daisy calmed down Darcy and Jane who were very startled by the whole ordeal.

Fury's voice rang through the Tower as he called for a meeting. Tony got out of his suit and asked JARVIS to lock up the lab nice and tight just in case.

Tony entered the conference room last. All of the others were already in there including Bruce who was holding an ice pack to his head. He gave Tony a weak smile as the genius entered.

"Where's Gwen?" asked Steve right away.

Tony noticed that neither Gwen nor Peter had showed up.

"I'm sure she's fine," answered the billionaire. "JARVIS, where's Gwenie?"

"She and Mr. Parker are not in the building, sir," answered the artificial intelligence.

Tony saw Steve's face drain of color as he registered those words.

"Then where are they?" asked Jane.

"According to the security footage, they were taken by AIM agents."

Steve shot up, but Luke pushed him back down into his seat.

"That would explain why some men were covered in webs," said Natasha.

Other than her speaking, it was quiet. Two of their people had been taken and there was nothing they could do about it now.

"Alright," said Fury who didn't even seem as confident as normal, "Stark, Banner, Pym, I want you all looking at that...thing. Find out everything about it. Johnson, Cage, check on the patients. Romanoff, interrogate our prisoners. Find out everything you can, especially where they took Powers and Parker. Rogers, try not to lose your mind. Coulson, call Morse and Strange. Bring them here. I'll get an excuse for Parker's disappearance."

"Why Bobbi?" asked Natasha and Tony even flinched at the poison in her voice.

"She's been taken by AIM before. She may know where they are and how to save Powers and Parker. If you don't like it, then suck it up."

Natasha fumed silently.

"Everyone get to work."

* * *

It was a beautiful sunny day in Los Angeles. The sky was clear and the air was uncommonly warm for this time of year. Television shows were starting to wrap up their seasons in their studios and movie stars were standing off set while the crew set up for new takes.

Barbara Barton sat in a lounge chair on the roof of Avengers Tower. It was her break from trying to track down AIM's location and simply wanted to relax. Her and the others had been working nearly non-stop and were getting nowhere.

She sipped the soda she had in her hand as she stared out at the Hollywood sign. She couldn't even count how many movies had showed its destruction. But she had to admit, it was quite a view.

"Bobbi!"

Barbara sat up and turned to look over the top of the chair. Her husband was walking up to her, a phone in his hand.

"Y'know," said Clint with a smile, "you really need to learn to take this with you."

She smiled back as she took the phone from him. "Thanks."

Clint saluted her and walked back inside the building. Barbara looked down at her phone and saw that Phil was on the line.

She put the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"

"We need you to come to New York," said Phil.

"Hello to you, too."

"The Tower was attacked by AIM, Bobbi. They took Gwendolyn and a teenager named Peter Parker. We need your help in finding them."

"That's what I thought we were supposed to be doing here."

"A Quinjet will be arriving in exactly thirty minutes. You will get on it and come to New York."

"You're not giving me a choice, are you?"

"Just do it."

Without even a goodbye, Phil hung up. With a huff, Barbara got up and went back into the Tower. She took the elevator to Erik Selvig's lab where everyone else would be. She put in the pass code the get in and the door beeped upon its approval.

"Hey guys," she called while walking in, "Phil wants me to go to New York. He says AIM attacked the Tower there and they took Gwendolyn and a kid named Peter Parker."

"What?" asked Clint, Erik and Rhodey at the same time.

"Why d'you have to go?" asked Clint.

"Are we not invited?" asked Rhodey.

"He asked for me," answered Barbara. "I'm leaving in thirty minutes. I'm gonna go pack my things and wait on the helipad."

Clint came over and kissed her. "Be careful."

"I generally try to be."

* * *

Gwen slowly woke up, barely aware of her surroundings. Her body hurt, yet she was laying on something comfortable. She squeezed her eyes together before opening them. The lights in the ceiling were blinding to her eyes as she blinked several times. Her eyes slowly adjusted and she took in her surroundings.

She was in a hospital room. No, not a hospital room. This was nothing like that. Granted she was on some sort of bed, this still wasn't right. All of the walls were clear of anything except white paint. The wall in front of her had a mirror which Gwen assumed was one-way. Where was she?

"Ah, Gwendolyn Powers," said a familiar voice behind her as a door opened and closed. "It is nice to zee you again."

Gwen's heart raced as she recognized it. This wasn't possible. This so wasn't possible.

"When your parents found out vat vas happening, it could haf been zee end of AIM. Fortunately, ve vere prepared."

Gwen attempted to jump out of the bed, but found it was impossible. She looked down and saw that she was dressed in white colored scrubs and her wrists and ankles were strapped to the bed. She squirmed around as she tried to break free. But it was no use. She was stuck.

The man came around to look at her. She recognized him immediately, confirming her worst fear. The scars. The glass in front of his eye. The shaved head. It was all the same.

Gwen had thought that the next time she saw the people who experimented on her as a child, she'd be handcuffing them, preferably shooting or tasing them, and putting them away for life. But here she was, looking at the worst of them all while being strapped to a bed.

"Last time I did not properly introduce myself," he continued. "Baron Wolfgang von Strucker at your serfice."

"Let me go," she whimpered.

"Just after ve get you back? No, no, no. You vill be our next success. Ve cannot let you simply walk out."

"Where's Peter?"

"Do not fret, Gwendolyn. He is alife. Ve had to see how our newest creation vas doing."

"What?"

"Vell, ve are zee only ozer ones to know about Mr. Parker's...accident. Now, I vould like to talk to you about something. During out tests, ve found zat you have gamma radiation in your system."

"What?"

"Gamma radiation. You do know vat zat is, correct?"

Gwen nodded.

"My question is, how did zis happen?"

"I don't know," lied Gwen. She wasn't about to tell him about Loki and the Tesseract. They didn't need to know about that.

"It is a shame you are not cooperating." Baron now picked up a large syringe from the nearby table. "I vonder if you are still afraid of needles."

He flicked the needle with his finger and smiled as Gwen began to panic. She tried again to break free, but even if she was thinking straight she wouldn't have been able to.

"Zis, Gwendolyn Powers, is a truth telling syrum. It vas created by the brilliance of AIM. You either tell me vat I vant to know, or ve do it zee hard vay."

She squirmed as Baron slowly moved the point of the syringe towards the veins in her bare right arm. Her breathing was fast as her heart raced, beating like a drum in her chest.

"It's from the Tesseract!" she cried right before the needle pierced her skin. Baron stopped and pulled the syringe away. He smiled down at Gwen as she began to calm down.

"Really? And how did zis happen."

"I was taken and put under control from its power. It was injected into my veins and absorbed in the shield around my brain. That's all I know."

"Zat is very interesting."

"Why does that matter?"

"I believe zee radiation is affecting you in a fery bad way."

"What d'you mean?"

"You are dying, Gwendolyn. You are _dying_."

But before Gwen could respond, or even think of a response, Baron quickly injected a different needle into her arm and everything went blank.

* * *

Natasha entered the interrogation room where the first prisoner of AIM sat behind a steel table. The man had a buzz cut and hazel eyes that glared at her as she walked in. He was out of his hazmat suit and instead was dressed in a white undershirt and tan pants. Natasha knew he was handcuffed, but she wasn't worried about him attacking her. Besides, she knew she could take him.

She watched him as she took a seat on the other side of the table. He definitely looked crazy.

"Where did they take Agent Rogers and Peter Parker?" she asked bluntly.

The man laughed. "You are all so pathetic. You will never stop us."

"Answer the question."

"He will return. Our leader will return to us and take his rightful place. He will lead us. Cut one head off, two more shall take its place!"

The man suddenly broke out of his cuffs and slipped something in his mouth. Natasha jumped across the table to stop him, but it was too late. The man was now foaming at the mouth.

"You have been warned," was the last thing he said before giving one last breath.

Natasha ran out of the room and saw that Phil was already there.

"He just killed himself," she said.

"The others did as well," stated Phil. "Director Fury wants another meeting."

Natasha nodded and followed him to the conference room.

* * *

"He said 'Cut one head off, two more shall take its place.'"

"That was HYDRA's saying," said Steve, his voice hollow. It was obvious that his voice would remain that way until Gwen returned to him.

"He talked about their leader returning and taking his rightful place."

"Did he mean von Strucker? asked Hank.

"He's already their leader," Daisy pointed out.

"Maybe that thing they sent is their future leader," suggested Darcy.

"Or Schmidt," said Steve. "Y'know, the original leader of HYDRA."

"I thought he was dead," said Jane.

"I thought so too, but now that we know what the Tesseract does, it's possible he just got teleported somewhere off in space."

"How could he have survived this long?" asked Luke.

"Doctor Erskine created him like he did me. It's possible."

Tony scoffed. "Even so, how could AIM find him? I mean, if the Tesseract teleported him then he could be anywhere. Unless he had, like, gamma radiation on him-"

"That's it!" exclaimed Bruce, standing up and looking very excited.

"What?" asked Natasha.

"Gamma radiation. That's how we'll find Gwendolyn and Parker."

"News flash," said Tony, putting his hands in the air, "they don't have the Tesseract."

"No, they don't. But don't you remember what happened when Loki took Gwendolyn? He used the Tesseract to control her. It went through her blood stream and was absorbed by the shield around her brain."

"So she has gamma radiation in her," concluded Hank. "Therefore we can trace it and find her."

"It'll be hard and could take a while, but it's the only thing we have right now."

"Wait," said Darcy looking at Bruce, "I thought gamma radiation was a bad thing."

"We'll deal with that later," said Tony. "Let's start tracking it down. Then while JARVIS is working we can check out that creepy man thing."


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Another shorter one today. Sorry for lack of Gwen.**

**MusicManiacGirl: You'll just have to wait and find out!**

**Lena Sauran: I think we all want to throw things at him haha.**

**MysticRyter: That totally describes him haha.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! They'll rescue her soon!**

**hellgirl-fan1: You'll find out soon!**

**AngelVamp6688: Hehe you'll have to wait to find out. In all honesty, I'm trying to make Bobbi easily hated just because it adds some drama haha.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Hahaha omg I never even saw that movie. I thought the first one was so-so and the second one sucked so I was like screw it.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Haha that's cause Fury's never written fanfiction before. At first I thought you meant Red Skull so I was like wat.**

**MidnightReader16: Thank you very much! That's really great to hear! :D**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Don't worry, Gwen and Peter will be fine. I could never kill them haha. Rhodey is kind of like the Tony of the West Coast haha. You're definitely not going to like Bobbi soon (muahahahaha).**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

Atlantis was, like always, submerged in water. The common area that once held a fireplace and several couches was now converted into almost a new lab. It happened to be the only area big enough for Stephen Strange to begin work on his teleportation device. He had received the prototype one from Tony and was basing his design off of that. However, he was adding his own touches to it like making it bigger and hoping to make it so that one could teleport within the same dimension instead of a parallel one.

Stephen held a wrench in his hand as he tightened a bolt on the side of his Stargate machine. The appearance wasn't all that great, but he wasn't trying to make it look pretty. He just wanted it to work.

He ignored the sound of doors opening and closing and the footsteps that approached him. Stephen was not alone in Atlantis as there were still many SHIELD agents there. However, Stephen knew exactly who this was.

"Phil, my friend," said Stephen, not looking up from his position, "what brings you to the Atlantic Ocean?"

"We could use some help."

"And how can I assist?"

"An agency named Advanced Idea Mechanics attacked the East Coast Avengers Tower."

Stephen looked up now and saw that Phil was holding a manila folder. Stephen took it and opened it in the palm of his left hand. With the other he rifled through the documents it contained.

"Everything in there will get you up to speed on things. AIM took Gwendolyn Powers and a teenage boy named Peter Parker. His records are in there. There is also a bit of classified information."

"Classified?"

"There's a...mysterious situation that occurred. Someone managed to get into the weapons vault without being seen doing so, though there is record of the door opening."

"Did they take anything?"

"That's the disturbing part. Everything is accounted for. Whoever it was is probably looking for something more dangerous. We were hoping that you could come back and investigate."

"Of course."

"Good. A Quinjet will be leaving in fifteen minutes. I hope you're on it."

* * *

"Here," said Bruce as he pulled out the right blueprints. "It's called the Super-Adaptoid. I thought it looked a bit familiar."

"Are these some of the plans that were taken from the Florida base?" asked Tony as he looked at the brain scans from the silver thing. The problem was, there wasn't exactly a brain. Only some sort of device that could be programmed to make the Adaptoid do what an individual wanted.

"Yeah. At least we know what it is now."

"Does it say what it can do?" asked Hank.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Tony. "It can copy people. I mean, it makes sense. It doesn't have a definite face or true features. It managed to turn into Banner and then hulk out."

"But why? To kill us?"

"You said it went after Rogers," said Bruce. "Was that just a coincidence or was he targeted?"

"This is people of HYDRA," states Tony. "It would make sense. Especially if they believe Schmidt is alive."

"But they attacked two separate floors," stated Hank. "Gwendolyn and Peter were on one. Obviously they had been aiming at it. I mean, what are the chances? Then they must have been aiming for the floor Rogers was on. Then they sent in the Adaptoid."

"And by taking the form of an ally they could get close enough to kill him," concluded Bruce.

"But why take Gwendolyn and Parker?" asked Tony.

"Coincidence?"

"No, they had to have a purpose. Take Loki for example. He took Gwenie because he had seen what she was capable of. He wanted to use her against us."

"So d'you think they'll take over her mind?" asked Hank.

"No. I think they know what she can do. Or at least know something they shouldn't. Same for Parker."

"We did find that document from Oscorp at their base," stated

Bruce. "Isn't that where Parker got bit?"

"You think they're planning something?" asked Hank. "With Oscorp I mean."

"It would make sense. What was that folder labeled again?"

Tony picked up the folder. "C. Connors."

"We should probably find out who this guy is and what he has to do with crossing species," suggested Hank.

Bruce took off his glasses and set them down on the counter. "I'm going to the medical ward. Gould's releasing Betty and Janet tomorrow. I want to know how they're doing and what they plan on doing."

"I was going visit Janet today," said Hank. "I'll talk to her about it. You can spend more time with Betty."

Bruce smiled. "Thanks."

As the man left, Tony turned to Hank with a mischievous grin.

"What?" asked the blonde.

"Nothing," lied the genius. It looked like Tony was going to have to play matchmaker again.

* * *

Bruce entered Betty's room after knocking. She looked up at him and smiled warmly. She still couldn't remember what kind of relationship they had, but she was remembering bits and pieces of things. At least it as progress.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he sat down in the side of her bed.

"Fantastic," she answered, still smiling.

"That's - that's really good to hear.

Betty frowned. "There's just one problem. I don't have anywhere to go when I leave."

"You could move into the Tower," suggested Bruce hopefully. "Once we find where you used to live you can go back there."

Betty smiled again. "Thanks. That sounds great."

"I can show you around, y'know, give you shortcuts, inform you the best places to avoid."

"I'd like that."

Bruce cleared his throat awkwardly before Fred came in after knocking.

"Hey, Banner!" he greeted. "I didn't expect to see you here. However, I'll have to ask you to

scoot out for a minute or so. I have some tests to conduct."

"It's fine," said Bruce. He looked at Betty. "I'll be back tomorrow."

She smiled and nodded while Bruce left.

* * *

"Janet?" asked Hank as he opened the door.

Hank walked inside and saw Janet look up from her phone where she was laying a game. He didn't notice how her face lit up at the sight of him.

"Hi, Hank," she answered with a smile.

"How are you feeling today?"

"The same. I mean, my body still feels, like, tingly and stuff."

"I was just wondering what you plan on doing once you're released from here."

"Oh, um, I don't really know..."

"You could always move into an apartment here if you want."

"D'you really want me too?"

"Yeah. You're DNA is very interesting. If you don't mind I'd like to study it some more."

Janet's face fell. "Oh, yeah sure. That sounds fine."

"Good. I'll inform Doctor Gould."

It seemed that Hank didn't notice that Janet had been hoping for a different answer. Tony was definitely going to have to play matchmaker.

* * *

It didn't take Loki long to realize he wanted to see Sigyn again. Not only was it the fact that she wasn't afraid of him like the others, but because she had found him in the Library. She had been the one to approach him, not him approaching her. He was curious as to why she had wanted to be in his presence.

However, Loki wasn't even sure if Sigyn was still in Asgard. He supposed it was possible that she had gone back to Vanaheim with her family. Then maybe he'd just have to visit her there.

Loki found himself wandering through the palace gardens, not sure of where to begin looking for her. He'd feel rather awkward if he asked someone where Sigyn was. He could remember before everything went bad that the Crimson Hawk Theroic had been interested in her. Was he still interested in her?

He couldn't help but feel anger towards Theroic, even without the knowledge of whether the warrior had interest in Sigyn or not. His mind became clouded as images flashed of Sigyn hating Loki, her pretending to like him and then running away with Theroic, laughing at Loki's never ending pain -

"Loki?"

The god whipped around, fury burning in his eyes like a raging fire. Sigyn stood before him, her golden hair up in an intricate bun, a purple cloak over a pale pink dress. She looked concerned for Loki, however she didn't look scared of the look in his eyes.

Instead of saying anything, Loki stood in silence. The sight of her made him calm down slightly and he could feel his mind becoming more and more clear. He wasn't quite sure what it was about Sigyn that made him this way, but he didn't mind. He felt...happy.

"Loki," she muttered, "what did you do to your hands?"

He looked down to see that in his clouded rage, he had dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands. He had broken skin and was now bleeding. Without protest, he allowed Sigyn to lead him over to a bench. The two sat down next to one another.

Sigyn took his cold hands in her warm ones. It seemed despite the winter chill, her flesh was still warm. Loki liked the feeling of it on his cool skin. He watched as she waved her hands over the cuts and muttered a spell. Before his eyes, the cuts healed as though they had never been there.

"Thank you, Lady Sigyn," he said softly.

"You are not required to call me Lady," she responded.

Loki looked up into her blue eyes. "That is what you are, yes?"

"Yes, but do we need formalities?"

She smiled at him, that genuine smile that made Loki feel warm inside and made his stomach do a strange flip. He still couldn't figure out why it did that.

"Are you alright?" asked Sigyn, taking Loki out of his thoughts.

"Yes, I am alright."

"Then explain to me how this happened."

"That does not matter. I must say that you did a marvelous job healing."

Sigyn smiled bigger. "Thank you. I have been learning for a while. Mother thinks I have a talent for it."

"I have a fantastic book on healing. Would you like to read it?"

"Perhaps. Only if you bring it to this spot tomorrow at this time."

"Yes, yes of course."

"Good. I must be going though. I must head to Folkvang for dinner this evening."

"Then I will see you tomorrow?"

"Perhaps."

Sigyn smiled again as she leaned forward and kissed Loki softly on the cheek. She then got up and walked towards the location of Queen Freyja's hall.

Loki watched her leave, now a bit more sure as to why his stomach flipped around her.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Posting this quickly so I can watch comic-con coverage. BYE.**

**Itsgoose2u: My evil plan is a success then! Muahahahaha!**

**MysticRyter: Sorry 'bout that. Hopefully I can make up for it.**

**Lena Sauran: I have a terrible habit of giving him a happy ending haha.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: I know right? OMG HAHAHA I'm sorry but that's really funny to me. I could see that totally happening to me.**

**Livea: Haha, glad I can help occupy your time!**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Don't worry, she's back in this chapter.**

**Guest: Thank you very much!**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Hank is so stupid haha. Poor Janet. Tony's going to have to work pretty hard on this one. I liked Curt too actually. I just felt really bad for him just because all he wanted was his arm. But then I'm like YOU'RE XENOPHILIUS LOVEGOOD USE YOUR MAGIC. Sorry to destroy your feels haha. And I'll make sure to get some Tony/Pepper fluff :D**

**AngelVamp6688: He's chillin' in Asgard haha. He'll come back though pretty soon.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Glad I could make up for it haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

It proved an easy task to start tracing the gamma radiation. Just like they had on the Helicarrier, Bruce and Tony, and now with Hank, stayed in one of Tony's labs to monitor the tracking. They knew it would go faster this time with the three of them working on it and knowing what they were doing, but it could also be a harder task as it was going to be difficult to pinpoint exactly where Gwen was.

Hank took the free time they had in the lab to start fixing his helmet. He was upset by the fact it was completely destroyed, but didn't voice his opinion on the matter. Bruce and Tony studied the Adaptoid, though there wasn't much to look at. It was deactivated for the time being and they had no idea if it would come alive again. They managed to take X-rays of it, but it seemed there was really nothing on the inside except a bone structure and the wires in its head.

Barbara eventually arrived and with her a thick layer of tension. Natasha put on a very fake smiled and greeted her supposed friend, but everyone could tell that they both weren't happy with each other. Some were wondering if Clint even knew he had two assassins silently fighting over him.

However, Phil led her to Fury right away and wasn't seen again. The air still felt different as Natasha also disappeared. Hank suggested that she was crawling through the vents as she would be most likely to get away with it.

Happy faces greeted Stephen when he arrived. The man had been forgiven for not being able to keep the Infinity Gems away from Thanos the Mad Titan and was now a friend of them all. Besides, he was a happy man himself. He did disappear, though, to his own lab where he began working on the "classified" situation.

No one really knew where Steve went. Tony suggested he was in the gym beating the crap out of some punching bags. Nobody could really blame him. His wife was missing and all he could do was sit around and wait for her to be traced. Tony simply hoped that Steve didn't blame himself for what happened. Seeing as Steve was a big idiot at times, the genius didn't put it past the soldier to feel that way.

The next day came quickly and there was still no sign of where Gwen and Peter could be. It was possible that they were deep underground, making it much more difficult to trace the gamma radiation.

Steve apparently slept in his old apartment in Avengers Tower. There was still plenty more rooms left, so Steve was allowed to keep

his just in case. They all assumed he didn't want to go back home without Gwen there. At least she hadn't lived in the apartment so he probably wouldn't think of her as much.

Bruce spent the morning with Betty. She was released from the medical ward quickly and was given new clothes. Bruce took her to the fortieth floor and walked her down the hall until they reached her new apartment. He had her enter the code and then they stepped inside. The place looked just like Steve's with the dining room, the kitchen, the balcony, etc.

"I wish I knew where I lived," muttered Betty as she ran a hand over the marble countertop.

"I'm sure we'll find out soon," answered Bruce. "Fury said that there's all sorts of security on your files. Once we get Gwendolyn back we'll break through them."

Betty nodded. "Maybe it'll help bring back memories."

"That'd be nice."

She looked up at him and furrowed her brow. "I remember something about...radiation."

Bruce laughed without humor. "I would imagine."

"But that I didn't care."

"About what?"

"About the radiation."

There was a bit of a silence that hung around them at her words.

"Bruce - Bruce were we..."

"In a relationship?"

Betty blushed slightly. "Yeah."

Bruce smiled. "I'll let you figure that one out on your own."

He turned to leave, but Betty stopped him by saying his name. Bruce turned around to look at her again.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem."

Hank, on the other hand, was very confused as to why Janet was acting strange as he led her to her new apartment. He wasn't sure if she was angry, upset or both. And Hank had absolutely no idea as to how to deal with it.

Janet put in the code to her apartment and opened the door. But before she stepped over the threshold, she turned around to look him in the eye.

"Do you not like me?" she asked.

Hank was taken aback. "What?"

"I asked if you don't like me."

"What would make you think that?"

"You're avoiding the question."

"Well, I don't not like you."

Janet raised her eyebrows.

"Why are you even asking?"

"Because...because I like you."

Now Hank raised his eyebrows. "But I haven't really done anything for you. I've just been recording some things for my own purposes."

Janet's face fell at his words and Hank couldn't understand why she'd be upset about this.

"But...I suppose I like you."

Her face brightened again even though she didn't smile.

"Well, Doctor Pym, I will see you later."

Hank cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, I live here, so yeah."

Janet rolled her eyes muttering, "Men," irritably under her breath before going inside her apartment and closing the door.

It was true. Steve was in the gym with his punching bags. All he could think about was the horrible things AIM could be doing to Gwen. He was so worried about her that he forgot they took Peter as well. He hadn't gone home not only because if they found her in the middle of the night he'd have to rush to the Tower, but also because he didn't like the idea of waking up and finding her side of the bed empty. There were times where she'd wake up before him and get up, but he always knew that she was still in the house. But now he didn't know where she was.

He heard the door to the gym fling open and hit the wall. Furrowing his brow, Steve turned around to see Tony.

"We found them," said the genius quickly.

Steve started unraveling the tape on his hands. "Where?"

"Michigan. We're leaving as soon as possible. I suggest you suit up."

Steve nodded, feeling excited. If they found her, then she must be alive. At least that was something to think about.

After leaving the gym, Steve quickly made his way to the locked room and got in his uniform. He passed Luke on his way out, the two nodding at each other. He then made his way to the helipad as quick as possible. Natasha, Barbara and Daisy were already in there. Steve didn't sit down as he was too anxious. He didn't even notice how thick the tension in the air became.

Hank and Bruce came next along with Luke. Apparently Stephen wasn't coming along on this one. Tony was suited up last and was flying around in the air impatiently.

"Everyone ready?" asked the pilot. "Let's go."

* * *

Baron was tapping his fingers on the desk while reading over some papers when his phone rang. He pressed the speaker button.

"Hello?" he answered even though he already knew who it was.

"Mr. von Strucker," said a voice on the other line.

"Ah," said Baron with a smile, "Mr. Osborn. I vas vondering ven you vould be calling."

"I don't have time for this. Do you have the girl?"

"Do not fret, Mr. Osborn. Ve hafe zee girl. Howefer, I vould tell Doctor Connors zat she vill be of no use to him."

"What? You said-"

"I know vat I said. But she cannot help him."

"He's certainly not going to want to hear this."

"I know. But zere is nothing I can do about zee matter." Of course, Baron knew that Parker would probably be of use, but he was AIM's pet now. Well, at least until they let him go once the location of their base was discovered. Nevertheless, Baron wasn't going to tell Osborn about Parker.

An AIM agent stepped into Baron's doorway, distracting Baron.

"Now, if you excuse me Mr. Osborn, I must go."

Without a goodbye, Baron hung up the phone.

"Sir, we're getting readings that an unknown aircraft is approaching."

"Gud. Make sure eferyone is ready for take-off."

* * *

When Gwen woke up again, she found that she was in the same room still. She didn't move around at first, unsure of what exactly was going on. Memories came flooding back and she panicked. Gwen attempted to get out of the straps that kept her on the bed, but it didn't work. Feeling frustrated, Gwen bit back a sob. She wanted to get out of there. She wanted to get back to Avengers Tower and forget this ever happened. She wanted to be back in Steve's arms and have him comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be alright.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Gwen took a moment to examine the straps. It seemed they were actually slightly loose on her now. Forming a plan in her head, Gwen carefully slid her hands out of the straps effectively freeing her arms. Her heart began racing as she realized it was possible she could get herself and Peter out of there.

Gwen reached forward and undid the straps that secured her ankles. She wasn't wearing any socks and realized that her feet were rather cold. Gwen slowly stood up, unsure of how her body would react to it. It was so far so good as she successfully moved into an upright position on her feet.

She looked around her, trying to find something that might break the one-way mirror. It was probably unbreakable, but it was worth a shot. Gwen grabbed a scary looking steel device and chucked it at the glass as hard as she could. Just as she expected, the glass remained intact.

Groaning in frustration, Gwen turned around and saw the only door in the room. She made her way for it, the floor even colder than her skin. Gwen let out a laugh as she found a control panel next to the door. This was going to be a piece of cake.

She bypassed the code and managed to open the door. It unlocked automatically and she pushed it open slowly, expecting to see guards standing around just in case. Instead, the hall was empty. Gwen squinted her eyes against the even more bright white color that covered the walls, floor and ceiling of the hall. She looked left and right, but there was no one. This couldn't be right.

Gwen took a chance and went right. She needed to find out where Peter was and get him. There were no more doors in this hall and there was nothing on the walls that could point her in some sort of direction.

After reaching the end of the hall, Gwen finally found a door and opened it with ease as it wasn't locked. Inside seemed to be a records room. She felt like she hit the jackpot as she began pulling open file cabinet drawers, but they all seemed to empty. Looking around in a panic, Gwen spotted a desk that had a folder open on top of it. She made her way over to it and picked it up. Inside was AIM's records of Peter and it also held what room he was in.

A computer sat on this desk and Gwen pulled over the nearby swiveling chair and sat down in front of it. She moved the mouse and saw the screensaver go away and a map of the facility appear on the screen. She furrowed her brow. This was convenient. Too convenient. She found it far too suspicious that this happened to be what was on the screen. And where was everyone?

Gwen didn't ponder on it. She quickly memorized where Peter was and how to get there. Before getting up, she spotted Peter's web-slingers sitting on the desk. She grabbed a bag that had been left behind and placed them inside along with any folders and files she could grab.

After zipping the bag shut, Gwen left the room and went the opposite direction, passing the room she had been in. At the other end of the hall was where Peter was being held. She walked up to the control panel and forced it to work for her.

Gwen heard the door unlock and she quickly slipped inside. Peter was lying on a bed wearing the same white scrubs as her. His eyes were closed. She ran over to him and undid the straps that held him down. She then shook his shoulders and his eyes flew open in fright.

"Peter!" she exclaimed as he sat up.

"Gwendolyn? What hap - we got kidnapped, didn't we?"

"You could say that."

"Crap."

"Listen, we need to get out of here. I think AIM left and didn't bring us. I found a map of the facility. I can get us out."

Peter stood up and looked down at his arms. He looked up at her and Gwen showed him her bag, indicating that she had possession of his web-slingers.

Gwen grabbed his arm to get him to follow her. He complied and she let go. They exited the room and Gwen led them down the hall.

They found themselves back in the office area and Gwen led Peter though a row of file cabinets. Taking a right when necessary, they came upon another door. This one was left unlocked. Gwen opening it and they stepped over the threshold. They left it open just in case they needed to get back, unsure if the door would lock itself.

The hall before them looked the same as the other. Gwen and Peter began moving forward and stopped at a corner when they heard something.

They could hear voices. Voices they recognized.

The Avengers had come to their rescue.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Yay, it's Saturday. Sorry if posting becomes a bit slow for a while. I'm busy with my mom's birthday coming up. I'm also watching more comic-con coverage today on G4. Spike's coverage yesterday was boring except for Zachary Levi confirming his role as Fandral for Thor 2.**

**Lena Sauran: Or perhaps not...**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Hahaha it's Hank's turn to be the Avengers biggest idiot. IT'S GONNA BE OKAY.**

**Arrows the Wolf: They do always save the day, even when things go to complete hell.**

**MysticRyter: Well that's good haha! I totally understand that explanation of feelings haha.**

**Livea: Thanks! That's not a bad review haha. I remember I was at Six Flags once and there was a really bad storm that occurred and these idiot guys ran around on the slippery blacktop and kept falling over.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thank you! Or perhaps they are just lucky...hmm...**

**morbidly-funny: Thank you! I'm glad they were a treat!**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: *awkward laugh* Yeah, Steve not hurting. Right. I thought that was Norman too, but I saw this article where Rhys Ifans says it isn't him. Now I'm not sure. There'll be a girl fight eventually haha. I can't wait to write it. I think you're gonna be pretty pleased with a scene in an upcoming chapter between Betty and Bruce (muahahahaha). OMG I'VE WANTED A DOCTOR STRANGE MOVIE FOR SUCH A LONG TIME. And an Ant-Man movie. Mark really does need his own movie.**

**DragonQuill6319: Don't worry, they are the real Avengers. That would've been a great plot twist though haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Steve was quiet the entire ride to Michigan. He was anxious and nervous about what they would find. However, he was prepared to beat up every AIM agent that got in his way. They really should've thought twice about taking the wife of a super-soldier.

Barbara was also quiet and seemed to be very interested in her phone. Even Steve noticed the daggers Natasha shot at the woman. It wasn't annoying, just uncomfortable. Daisy tried to keep Natasha's attention to lessen the tension.

Hank wore his rebuilt helmet and looked very pleased with his work. Luke talked with Bruce who seemed deep in thought.

The Quinjet finally came to a stop above a forest of trees. Steve watched out the window as Tony flew down and found the entrance, just like at the swamp base. He opened it and the Quinjet descended inside.

This place was a lot different than the Florida base. This one was covered in bright white walls, floors and ceilings. Steve had to squint as he stepped out of the aircraft.

"JARVIS is picking up only two lifeforms," said Tony. "It's just like last time."

"D'you think AIM just abandoned them?" asked Hank.

"Possibly."

"Alright," said Steve. "Hank, Barbara, you two go down that hall. Luke, Daisy, you two go down that one. Stark, you go down that one. Natasha, you're coming with me."

Everyone nodded and went off on their own. Steve and Natasha went down a hallway that Steve hadn't instructed anyone to go down. The only reason he had her go with him was because he could stop her if she tried to kill Barbara.

Neither of them said a word as they looked around. Natasha drew he gun out and had it at the ready, just in case.

"Something seems wrong," said Natasha at last. "No one's here."

"So they left Gwen and Parker," added Steve.

"But why leave?"

"Maybe they knew we were coming."

"I don't think they're afraid of us. They must've left for a different reason."

Steve turned around and looked at Natasha, but before she could say anything, her eyes widened.

* * *

Gwen creeped around the corner and saw Natasha and Steve. Overwhelmed with the fact they'd found her and Peter, she rushed forward, not caring about anything. Natasha looked past Steve, whose back was to Gwen, and her eyes widened.

"Gwendolyn?" she asked.

Steve turned around just as Gwen flung herself into his arms. She melted into him, feeling safe at last. Her eyes closed as he held her close to him, his arms tight around her. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back soothingly.

Beside them, Natasha shook hands with Peter who had walked up to them.

"Good to see you two alive," she told him.

"Yeah, me too," he answered.

"We found them," Natasha said into the earpiece. "Let's head back to the Quinjet."

* * *

Natasha had taken the bag Gwen held as they walked back to the Quinjet. Steve held onto Gwen tightly as he led her there, Peter and Natasha behind them. They entered the main room where the Quinjet sat and were immediately greeted by the others.

"Gwenie!"

She found herself wrapped up in the arms of Iron Man which wasn't exactly comfortable. Gwen was surprised that Tony had obviously been worried, but she didn't mind. Natasha gave the bag to Bruce who started looking through its contents. Tony shook hands with Peter and led him into the Quinjet, asking about how the boy was doing.

Steve sat Gwen down and took a seat next to her. Everyone else filled in around them. Steve felt complete joy as he looked at her and knew she was alive.

Gwen fell asleep on the ride back. Steve kept an arm around her as she used his shoulder as a pillow. He pushed a stray lock of hair out of he face with a smile on his. All of the others could tell that Steve was looking better already now that he had his wife back. Nobody dared disturb them and kept to themselves.

Once they landed, Peter was led to the medical ward while Steve carried Gwen bridal-style so she wouldn't have to wake up. The elevator doors opened to reveal Fred who was waiting for them.

"I'm just gonna run a few tests on her," said the head doctor as Steve laid Gwen down on a bed.

"Alright," answered Steve. He was anxious for her to be awake again so he could talk to her, but instead he walked out of the room after kissing her forehead.

Steve then went up to the locker room and got out of his uniform. He nearly walked into Phil on his way out who seemed to had been waiting for him.

"Director Fury's requested a meeting," said the agent. "He expects you there in five minutes."

Without another word, Phil walked away. Running a hand through his hair, Steve made his way down the hall and to the conference room where everyone was already seated except for Stephen and of course Gwen and Peter. Even Jane and Darcy were there. Fury was already standing in the front but without Phil.

Everyone watched Steve as he came in and sat down. He felt very awkward with so many eyes on him.

On the table in front of Fury sat the bag that Gwen had to come to them with. He picked it up and spilled out its contents. A few folders and loose documents came out along with Peter's web-slingers. Tony quickly snatched them up. Steve gave him a curious look to which Tony simply shrugged.

"It seems that AIM's left behind some clues yet again," said Fury. "And I think they were left on purpose."

Steve looked closely at a document that had slid his way. It was a report on suspended animation. At the bottom was the "OSCORP" logo.

"What does suspended animation have to do with anything?" asked Steve.

"We don't know," said Fury. "But they left that there for a purpose."

"As a warning?" asked Natasha.

Tony scoffed. "They wouldn't warn us about anything."

"They left the Adaptoid blueprints," Luke pointed out. "And they left their files on both Janet and Betty."

"But we didn't know what the Adaptoid was until it got here."

"Maybe it's to keep us thinking," suggested Jane. "That way we're so busy trying to figure out why they left something instead of trying to find them."

"Why did they want Parker though?" asked Bruce as he rifled through AIM's file of Peter. "I mean, if they're working with Oscorp then it makes sense."

"Would Peter be considered a cross species?" asked Daisy. "Maybe Oscorp planned this all and asked AIM to take him. Like that Connors guy. Maybe he works for Oscorp."

"Hey, I know this is really random," said Tony, "but has anyone else noticed that an Asgardian hasn't come here in a while?"

"I've noticed that too," agreed Jane.

"Maybe they're busy," suggested Hank.

"You would think at least one of them would have made time to come here," argued Tony. "You'd think they'd at least come to tell us that they're busy."

"Maybe they're too busy to visit and tell us they're too busy," said Darcy.

"Or maybe something suspicious is going on."

Steve sighed. "D'you think they're working behind our backs?"

"Or maybe something fishy is going on that they don't even know about."

"But Heimdall sees all, doesn't he?" asked Daisy. "He'd warn Asgard if he saw something. Unless he can't see it..."

"I blame Loki!"

Fury ran a hand over his face. "Stark, for the last time, you can't blame Loki for everything wrong with the world."

"Uh, why not?"

"Because as much as we don't like him, he's at least made an effort to do some good."

"Is that a hint, Director?"

"You know what?" said Steve, sensing Tony's attitude. "I think we should pick this up at another time."

He shot a glare at Tony who was looking very crabby.

"Alright," agreed Fury. "You're all dismissed."

* * *

In the hall that led to the weapons vault, Stephen held what was like a geiger counter. However, there were modifications on it that had been installed by Stephen himself. Now it could pick up traces of magic.

Stephen held the device out in front of him as he walked down the hall. It made a slight noise, like someone who could use magic had walked there. Once Stephen approached the door, however, the counter went berserk. He frowned. It was a curious situation.

"It seems that someone who has mastered the art of magic has been here," he told Phil who was behind him.

"Can you tell who it was?"

"You see, my friend, everyone is capable of magic. However, humans are not taught it at an early age. It takes decades of patience, learning and practicing to master it. That is why those such as Asgardians and Eternals are sorcerers. But each person has a different core to their magic. Not one person is the same. One must focus on this core and with that they can do anything. And with a different core means a different trace."

"So are you able to tell whose trace it is?"

Stephen shook his head. "It is impossible to know a person's trace unless you have seen it yourself. For example, I have seen and sensed the traces of Loki and Eros. This is from neither of them. However, whoever left this trace is very powerful and very skilled. You said nothing was taken?"

"Yes."

"Then they must be looking for something. They came at the same time as Volstagg which means they did not want to be found. But this also means they do not possess an affinity of teleporting, which makes sense. Obviously they made themselves invisible, they walked down the hall, then cast an illusion so it looked like the door wasn't opening, looked around, and left."

"Do you believe they'll be back?"

"Yes, my friend. They will be back. But I am afraid they will not find what they are looking for."

* * *

**Sorry for the anti-climatic shorter chapter. Just because I'm curious, does anyone have any idea of what's going on here?**


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Yesterday was a big day in our fandom. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then it's off to Google with you! I'm embarrassed to admit the knowledge of both the Winter Soldier and Ant-Man actually made me cry. I had a Kristen Bell moment.**

**Arrows the Wolf: I'm obviously doing my job well then muahahahaha.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! Haha at least it's interesting.**

**Lena Sauran: Here's more! Don't g all rage monster on me! :)**

**MysticRyter: Oh, totally! Celebration time is shawarma time!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Hahaha I'm just a good guesser I guess. Let me tell you something. The suspended animation that was mentioned in the last chapter is foreshadowing some future event.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Hmm, that's definitely interesting. I won't say anything though! I couldn't have Tony ruin a moment haha. He's done that too much. I actually enjoyed Phil and Stephen together in a bromance too haha. I just picture them in my head and it makes me smile.**

**AngelVamp6688: Yay! If you're on the edge of your seat then I'm doing a good job muahahahaha.**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen**

It was a long day for Steve. After the meeting, he found himself pacing around in the medical ward, waiting to hear about Gwen. Fred had called Bruce in to help him with something. Steve assumed they were checking out the whole gamma radiation issue. Steve was incredibly worried about that.

"If you keep doing that you're gonna make a rut in the floor."

Steve turned around to see Tony walking towards him from the elevator.

"Aren't they done yet?" whined Tony.

"I wish," answered Steve. As if on cue, Fred and Bruce exited Gwen's room. Their eyes landed on Steve and Tony, their expressions somber.

"You two might want to have a seat," said Fred, gesturing to the waiting area. Steve didn't want to sit, but did so anyway. His heart was pounding in anticipation.

"She's awake now," said Bruce once they were all seated. "She told us everything that happened."

"Which is?" said Tony.

"AIM's the operation that experimented on her as a child. Von Strucker remembered her and that's why they took her. He even payed Gwen a visit himself. He told her that they ran tests on her and they found the gamma radiation in her system and he told her that she's dying."

Steve felt like he'd been kneeled in the gut. But that wasn't true, was it? It was probably something von Strucker said to scare her, maybe scare her into telling information.

"From the tests we've done," said Fred, "we realized that he's telling the truth."

Steve's heart sank as his eyes searched the room for some sort of answer. But all he saw was the off-white color of the medical ward. Gwen couldn't be dying. Of all people to be in such a condition, Gwen was the last person he'd think would be in it. He needed her.

When neither Steve nor Tony answered, Bruce began speaking. "We believe the gamma radiation had weakened her immune system. That's why she picked up a cold and hasn't gotten rid of it. Her body is incapable of fighting it. She's lucky she didn't pick up something else."

"Can't you fix it?" asked Steve hopefully.

Both Bruce and Fred shook their heads.

"There's no technology to remove the radiation," said Fred. "If we had it I'm sure Doctor Banner would have been the first to use it."

"Then what's gonna happen?"

"We suspect it won't be the radiation that kills her, but a disease. She's much more susceptible to really anything right now. I'd suggest she stays out of public contact until we can help her somehow."

Steve nodded, unable to make any words. He couldn't believe that Gwen was dying. She couldn't die, he wouldn't let her. He'd stick her in a bubble if he had to.

"You can speak with her," said Fred, "but only one at a time. She'll be free to go once everything goes through the system in about an hour. I'll come back to give you guys some doctor's orders."

Fred gave a smile before walking off. Bruce nodded, looking rather grim. He, too, walked off.

"Should we tell her?" Steve asked Tony.

"I dunno. It might freak her out." Tony put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "You go talk to her first."

Steve nodded and took a deep breath before entering Gwen's room.

* * *

Gwen saw the door open a crack and Steve come in. He smiled at her and she sat up more on the bed. In all honesty, she could really use some more sleep. Her body felt incredibly weak.

"Hey, Gwen," he said softy. He sat down on the side of her bed and took her hand in his. "How're you feeling?"

"Excellent. Can we go home now?"

"Only when you're released."

"When is that?"

"An hour or so."

Gwen groaned. "I just wanna go home."

"I know. You're so impatient."

Gwen smiled and wrapped her arms around Steve's neck. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close to him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, taking in his 1940s scent.

"Von Strucker said I'm dying," she whispered.

She could hear Steve take a deep breath as his grip on her tightened.

"I won't let you die, Gwen."

"You can say that all you want but it won't change the fact that I'm dying."

Steve didn't answer as he simply held her in his arms. It was all he could really do at the moment seeing as Gwen wasn't in the mood for encouraging and hopeful words.

"Please tell me you ate and slept while I was gone," said Gwen.

Steve laughed. "Don't worry about me."

"You didn't, did you?"

"Gwen, I promise you that I'm fine. It's you we're worried about."

Gwen sighed and closed her eyes contently.

* * *

Steve eventually left, saying that someone else wanted to talk to her. She honesty didn't want to let go, but did so anyway.

The door opened again, revealing Tony. He smiled at Gwen and came over to give her a hug.

"Look at you, Gwenie," he said. "You look like you could fly to the moon."

"Thanks, I guess," she laughed.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. We'll Pepper wanted me too. She's with the builders of the Mansion today."

"Oh, so you don't want to be here."

"I never said that."

Gwen smiled. "You know, von Strucker kind of reminded me of Obadiah in some weird way."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Because God knows we need more Obie's."

Tony took one of her hands and squeezed it. "I'm just glad you're okay, kid. Pepper would've killed me if we found you dead and Rogers probably would've combusted or something."

"Thanks for that image."

For a second, Gwen couldn't help but think about when Tony had been dying. It had been shocking to hear about. But he was able to fix himself. Gwen couldn't fix herself. No one could.

* * *

Steve came back in after Tony had left, followed by Fred. The soldier immediately came to Gwen's side again.

"Well, Gwendolyn," said Fred, "you're free to go. I suggest you stay in bed for a few days. Then we'll see how you're doing. I don't want you manipulating any energy. You need to just rest."

"Got it," answered Gwen."

"Make sure she does all of this, Steve."

Steve smirked at Gwen who rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her."

"Good. I'll see you both later."

From what Gwen learned on the ride home, Peter was released almost immediately. Phil drove him home to his Aunt May who was under the impression Peter had been on some sort of field trip. It seemed that Tony had given Peter a bag with a wink, no one knowing what was inside.

Of course, Tony had also given Gwen and Steve a little something which happened to be some shawarma. Gwen honestly wasn't too fond of the food, but she loved Tony too much to say no. Besides, he meant well.

Steve explained about Barbara's and Stephen's sudden appearances. It seemed no one was truly informed of Stephen's reason to return to the Tower, but Gwen had a pretty good idea that it had to do with the weapons vault.

Gwen still wasn't going to tell Steve about it. She just hoped that JARVIS wouldn't alert her if something went wrong for Steve would probably end up seeing it first. Then he'd get upset that she didn't tell him and then they'd argue and it just wouldn't be good. In truth, the easiest way to solve this was to tell him, but Gwen knew how Steve's mind worked. He'd totally freak out.

So Gwen remained silent as Steve went on about what happened when she was gone. It made things a lot easier when he didn't freak out.

* * *

When Peter arrived home after being dropped off by Phil, he had to endure questions from Aunt May about his "field trip" over dinner. Peter made up some very convincing lies that seemed to satisfy her. Afterwards he helped her clean up and then retreated to his room along with the bag Tony gave him.

Peter sat it down on his bed and opened it up. He had thought he'd find his web-slingers, but he found something else entirely. Peter smiled as he lifted the object out.

It was a suit.

A red and blue suit with black stripes. It had sort of a big look to it.

On the arms were his web-slingers, already installed into the suit. There was also a note that read: _Be careful bugboy_. No wonder Tony had winked at him. Maybe the guy wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

In the valet parking lot of one of New York's finest halls for fancy parties, a worker got out of an expensive car. He put in a password that would lock the car and ran off quickly to go help another person.

What he didn't know was a thief had been lurking in the shadows. The thief casually walked over the vehicle, glancing around. He discretely tapped his fingers on the touchscreen lock, getting past the password and unlocking the car. Smiling in triumph, he opened the door and slid inside. Now he just had to start it.

What he didn't see was Peter Parker sitting in the back seat.

"Ahem," said Peter. "Y'know, if you're gonna steal cars, don't dress like a car thief."

The thief looked back at Peter and started to panic. "You a cop?"

"You seriously think I'm a cop in a skintight red and blue suit?"

The thief panicked some more and tried to open the door, but Peter lazily shot a web at the lock.

"Come on, you've gotta be smarter than that."

The thief then pressed down on

the button to open the window. Once it was down far enough, he squeezed himself through it.

"Oh, he's going through the window. That's genius."

Once the thief had fallen face first on the ground, he got up and looked back in the car. Peter was gone.

"Look out!"

Before the thief knew it, Peter had jumped over a nearby car and had taken him down. The thief hurriedly stood up and took out a

tiny blade.

"You found my weakness," said Peter mockingly, falling to his knees. "It's small knives."

Peter then stood up and shot a web at the thief, hitting the arm that had the knife. The web made him attached to wall behind him. Peter shot some more webs at the guy, nearly covering him completely, including the thief's mouth. In short, Peter was actually having fun.

It was short lived, though, as Peter heard sirens come up from behind him. Peter quickly moved forward and looked at the thief's wrist for a star tattoo that would tell him if this was the man that killed Uncle Ben. Unfortunately, his wrist was blank. A police man on a motorcycle came up and took out his gun. The man pointed it at Peter.

"Hey, it's okay, I stopped him!" said Peter.

"Put your hands in the air!"

Peter complied. "I just did all the work for you and that's all I get?"

"Who are you?"

"No one understands the concept of the mask."

Before the cop could do anything else, Peter shot out web at the top of the nearest building and went flying. This was his favorite part of the suit already. He knew he'd have to thank Tony for this.

Peter yelled and laughed as he swung from building to building. Oh yeah. This was _so_ cool.

* * *

"I told you our plan vould vork," laughed Baron as he sat at his desk at AIM's new base.

"You let them get Powers and Parker," stated MODOK angrily, floating in front of the desk. "I can't see how this is a success."

"You must be patient, dear MODOC."

"I'm tired of waiting, von Strucker. Therefore I've taken the liberty of coming up with a proper plan."

Baron raised his eyebrows. "Oh really?"

"Really. Unfortunately, it doesn't involve you."

Before Baron could say anything else, a red beam of light shot out from the headband across MODOK's forehead. It hit Baron square in the chest and basically disintegrated him. There was nothing left but an empty chair.

MODOK gravitated forward and moved himself behind the desk. He reached for the phone and dialed a certain number.

"Hello?" answered a man after one ring.

"Mr. Osborn, this is the new leader of AIM. We need to talk."


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Hello everyone. It feels like Muspelheim here. Anyway, I won't be posting tomorrow because it's my mom's birthday and we're having a movie marathon.**

**Arrows the Wolf: I know right? It was definitely one of the best scenes.**

**Lena Sauran: Haha he's just totally insane.**

**Loulyhoot: Thank you! :D**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: You're not an idiot haha. Don't worry, she won't die. I promise you that.**

**Itsgoose2u: Someone will cure her, but it might not be a human (hint hint)**

**MysticRyter: Do you feel like you missed something?**

**Livea: Thanks! Don't worry, I understand. I hate bratty kids.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Haha wow! I can't believe I made you cry twice in one chapter omg. MODOK even creeped me out. He's just such a lame villain that I wanted him to super mean and evil to make up for it. Trust me, things are going to get interesting (hint Green Goblin hint). I love the film line up too. My mom keeps making fun of Ant-Man because she thinks it sounds lame and I'm like WHAT. NO MOM NO.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

When Gwen and Steve arrived home, the soldier immediately ordered Gwen to go to bed. She, of course, protested simply because she didn't like being given orders by Steve. Even if she was exhausted.

"Just change into something comfortable and go to bed," said Steve again, now sounding very irritated.

"Fine," Gwen groaned. She slipped into an old t-shirt and checkered pajama pants. Once done, she stood next to bed and didn't touch it.

"Gwen," said Steve in a warning tone.

"Steve."

She heard him sigh with frustration and before she knew it, she was lifted up and thrown on the bed and Steve was holding her down.

Gwen tried not to laugh, but failed miserably as Steve laughed as well. He then leaned down and kissed her. His grasp on her loosened and Gwen ran her hands through his hair. When he pulled back, Gwen saw a look of sadness come across his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"Nothing," he lied terribly.

To stop her from questioning him more, Steve kissed her again. But they did need air at some point. The next time they pulled apart, Steve tried to kiss her again as soon as possible, but Gwen stopped him so he would look at her.

"Steve," she said slowly, "what's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Never mind."

"Tell me."

"It's nothing, Gwen, really."

"You're lying."

"Gwen-"

Gwen sat up and pushed Steve off of her. "Steven Rogers, tell me the truth."

Steve awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh.

"It's just, I'm worried." It seemed Steve was trying to pick his words carefully so he could tell the truth, but not everything.

"About what?" asked Gwen. "What are you hiding?"

"Gwen, honey, you need rest. Please. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Gwen bit her bottom lip before nodding and falling back on the bed. Steve laid down beside her and pulled her close to him.

"I love you, Gwen," was the last thing she heard before falling asleep.

* * *

After everyone had parted ways, Bruce decided to pay Betty a visit. He had last seen her that morning, but it felt like ages. Besides, he thought she should be updated on things.

Once the elevator arrived on the fortieth floor, he stepped out and walked down the hall until he reached Betty's apartment. He knocked on the door.

"Coming!" called Betty's voice from the other side of the door. Bruce's heart leapt at the sound.

He heard the door unlock from the other side and Betty stood before him as she opened the door. Her mouth turned into a big smile at the sight of him. Bruce could smell something good coming from the kitchen.

"Hi, Bruce," she greeted happily.

"Hi, uh, I was wondering if we could talk. Unless you're in the middle of something."

"Oh, it's no problem. I was just making dinner. There's probably enough for two if you want to join me."

Bruce nodded eagerly, but then he stopped. "No, I wouldn't want to intrude..."

"Bruce, it's fine!"

Bruce smiled. "Alright then."

Betty opened the door bigger so Bruce could get in. Once he had stepped over the threshold, she closed the door. She quickly went back into the kitchen and stood in front of the stove, holding a spatula.

"I hope you like grilled cheese," she said sheepishly. "It's practically the only thing I can make."

"That's what smelled so good?" asked Bruce.

"You sound surprised."

"Yeah, I guess. You must make really good grilled cheese."

Betty smiled. "I'd say it's pretty decent."

It didn't take long for Betty to whip up another sandwich alongside her own. Once he was done, she set them on separate plates and placed them on the dining room table. Both her and Bruce sat down and started to eat.

"This is more than pretty decent," said Bruce.

"Thanks. I had to make it a lot in college."

She stopped eating and looked up at Bruce with a large smile.

"I remember college," she stated excitedly.

Bruce smiled at her, excited that she was making progress.

The rest of the time the two talked about Gwen. Betty was worried simply because she thought Gwen was a nice person and because Bruce was obviously friends with her. Bruce didn't want to endanger Betty by telling her too much, so he left some information out.

Betty walked with Bruce to the door after they finished and looked up at him. The two of them stood there, as if unsure of what to do. But it seemed both of them had an idea at the same exact time.

Both people leaned forward and met each other halfway with their lips. It was a gentle and short kiss and both of them smiled when they pulled apart.

"I'll see you later," said Betty as Bruce stumbled out the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you."

Betty bit her bottom lip to stop a giggle as she closed the door, leaving Bruce to try to remember where his apartment was.

* * *

It didn't take long for Loki and Sigyn to become just about inseparable. The two of them spent most of their time reading books on healing as Sigyn proved she was very good at it. Even better than Loki, though it would hurt his pride to say it out loud.

It seemed that the two would prefer to sit in the dark corner of the library and discuss healing and magic than anything else. Thor couldn't even get his brother to spar with him and Sif and the Warriors Three. He wasn't really complaining though for whenever Loki thought about Sigyn, he became the man he used to be. He laughed, played tricks and genuinely smiled. Even other Asgardians were warming up to him again.

Loki randomly tested Sigyn's healing ability in several ways. Sometimes he would accidentally hurt himself and she'd laugh at his excuse of what happened and help him or he'd purposely cut himself around her just to see what she'd do. She mainly scolded him for doing such a thing and healed him quickly. He'd laugh at the anger on her face as he thought she actually looked pretty when she was angry.

The only problem for Loki was that he wasn't quite sure what to do with the feelings he had for her. Loki never really had time for women before as he would prefer to read his books and practice magic. His priority had been to show his worth to the All-Father. Besides, Loki had hated all the Aesir and Vanir women who would practically throw themselves at him because he was a prince and they were too scared to confront the mighty Thor.

But now Loki had found someone who wanted to be around him because she enjoyed his company. Sigyn liked Loki for Loki, not for being a prince or for being good at magic, but for him. She had brought out the part of him that everyone thought had died when he learned of his true heritage.

That was something Loki had been worried about. He didn't want Sigyn to run from him in fear when he explained to her what he truly was. He was pretty sure everyone in Asgsrd knew, but seeing as she was from Vanaheim, he wasn't sure if she knew.

So, Loki decided not to tell her, but to show her. He lead her to the weapons vault and then into the relics room. On the far end was a pedestal and upon it the Jotun Casket of Ancient Winters. He led her over to it, the two of them holding hands.

Loki placed his hands on either side of it and lifted it. A cold chill ran through his body as his skin turned blue and his eyes changed to red. He now resembled what he was almost supposed to look like had he not been taken by Odin.

"Fascinating," muttered Sigyn.

Loki furrowed his brow. "What?"

"It is just I have never actually seen a Jotun. I find this rather fascinating."

"Fascinating? You find this fascinating?"

"Well, yes. I do."

Loki smiled as he set the Casket back down with a clink. His skin and eyes returned to their normal states.

"You really are a strange one."

Sigyn smacked his arm playfully. "_I_ am the strange one?"

"Okay, so maybe I'm a little strange myself."

Loki and Sigyn laughed together as they left the relics room and to the exit of the weapons vault.

"Brother!"

Thor's booming voice echoed off the walls and Loki turned around to look at him.

"Yes, Thor?" he asked.

"Volstagg said he saw you go this way. I was wondering if you would not mind sparring with me today."

"I am afraid I am spending the day with Sigyn."

"It is fine, Loki," she cut in. "I would love to see you use that new spell."

Loki chuckled seeing as this new spell was one of their many inside jokes. "That would be quite a sight." Loki then turned back to Thor and nodded. "I will go retrieve my armor and meet you in the arena." Loki turned back to Sigyn and lifted her hand up to his face. He then place a soft kiss on her knuckles before letting it go and leaving for his chambers where his armor resided.

Sigyn looked back at Thor who was smiling at the scene he had witnessed.

"Princess Sigyn," he said, nodding.

"Prince Thor."

"Come, walk with me to the arena."

Sigyn nodded at his request and she strode up to him as the two began walking.

"I must thank you for what you have done for my brother," said Thor. "It is nice to see someone make him happy or really just want to spend time with him. Especially after all he has done."

"Well, he only played simple tricks on me when we were younger."

"I speak of his poor actions on both Asgard and Midgard."

"I know. But I know he is a good man. He's just a bit lost is all."

"You have unwavering loyalty. That is uncommon these days."

"I value it, loyalty. I believe that if Loki has people who are loyal to him and people that love him, them he will be okay."

Thor smiled. "Love?"

Sigyn's cheeks turned slightly pink. "Well, I must admit I enjoy your brother's company."

"But something is troubling you."

"Yes. It is just that...you see, my mother does not exactly approve of Loki."

"Why not?"

"She believes him to be a bad influence. She knows of my value of loyalty and knows that if I were to be with Loki, I would stand by him."

"And she thinks he will revert back to darkness?"

"I am afraid so."

"Princess Sigyn, I believe that as long as you are at my brother's side, he will never fall back into darkness."

And with that, Thor winked at her as they entered the arena.

* * *

The next day, Gwen ignored her orders to stay in bed and took a shower. It seemed that this was okay as Steve did not show up to force her back into bed. After finishing, she dried off both her body an her hair before changing into another pair of pajamas. If she was going to be spending all day in bed, she was going to do it comfortably.

After getting cozy under the covers, Gwen reached over to grab the remote so she could watch some television when she coughed. She threw her hand on her mouth just in time, not really caring about the whole "cough into arm" thing at the moment. But something wasn't right.

Gwen's heart began racing as she felt something wet in her hand and had a metallic taste in her mouth. Very slowly, she removed her hand from her face and saw the color red.

Blood.

She reached over to the beside table and grabbed a tissue. She cleaned her hand and coughed into the tissue.

More blood.

Gwen was tempted to hide the tissue from Steve to keep him from worrying, but she was terrified and knew someone had to know. But before she could make a decision, Steve was already in the room.

"Are you okay?" he asked, referring to her coughing. He sat down on the bed and saw the tissue. He then looked up at Gwen, a very concerned look on his face. He then wrapped her in his arms.

Gwen hadn't noticed how she was shaking and that tears were spilling over. In short, she was scared. Very scared.

"It'll be okay," said Steve as he stroked her hair comfortingly. "I'll call Banner and he'll come and check you out, okay?"

She nodded into his chest and reluctantly let go as he went to place the phone call.

Gwen sat shaking, holding back a cough that was threatening to come out. She was terribly frightened out of her mind. What was going on?

Once Steve finished his call with Bruce, he came back in and held Gwen as she tried to calm down. He muttered soothing words into her ear as he stroked her hair, but she still looked scared. It wasn't like he could blame her, though.

The doorbell rang and Gwen reluctantly let go of Steve so he could let Bruce in.

"Hey, Gwen," said Bruce once he was in the bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the bed, Steve going to the other side and taking hold of one of Gwen's hands. "I want you to calm down and answer a few questions, okay?"

Gwen nodded.

"Are you feeling weak at all?"

Gwen nodded.

"How much?"

"Like I could sleep for hours."

"Has there been blood any other times you coughed?"

Gwen shook her head.

"Are you having any trouble breathing? Does it feel like your heart is beating irregularly?"

Gwen shook her head.

Bruce nodded and gave her a small but sad smile.

"I'll talk to Doctor Gould about this. We'll see what we can do, okay?"

Gwen nodded and Bruce got up. Steve followed him out of the bedroom not only to show him out, but to question him.

"I have to say Banner, I think there's something you're not telling us," said Steve once they were out of earshot from Gwen.

"Do you want to hear the brutally honest truth or remain ignorant?" asked Bruce.

Steve actually wanted to be ignorant. He didn't want to know.

"Brutally honest truth," he answered finally.

Bruce took a deep breath. "She's dying."

"We already know that."

"But the process is speeding up."

Steve felt his heart become heavy and his chest tightened.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"It seems that whatever AIM did to her, they sped up the process. Her body is going through months of becoming sick within days."

"How long do you think she'll have?"

Bruce paused as a pained expression came over his face. "I'd say she has until Easter which is at the end of the month. Maybe even less."

"I just don't understand."

"We got some analysis back about Gwen's organs. It seems they're...well they're shutting down. Slowly, but surely. Her body is essentially becoming nothing."

Steve felt horrible at these words. He was very possibly going to lose the most important person in his life by the end of the month. So many emotions filled Steve's heart. He was infuriated that AIM had done this, angry with Loki for having used the Tesseract on her in the first place, he was depressed over the idea of watching Gwen die and was frightened about what he'd do without her.

* * *

**Okay, so I have a question. I mentioned an idea I have to a friend and she said she'd read it so I may end up writing it just for her, but I'm curious about what you all think. As you've all read, Gwen is there during the events of both Iron Man films. I think it would be fun to write her into them. So basically the first one would be about her getting hired at Stark Industries, losing her parents, Tony becoming Iron Man and Obadiah trying to use her. The second one would be about joining SHIELD, meeting the crew and then going through movie events. The second part of this idea I haven't shared with anyone yet and I wanna know what you think. I was thinking that after Iron Man 3 comes out that I could write Gwen into that as well. It would be like an AU of my own story. I'll explain more later if you guys want me to do it. I've already set up a poll on my page if you don't want to leave your answer in a review (hopefully it's there by now as I'm a noob at it). I'll leave it up until Gwen's story is finished. And thanks to all who have actually read this entire note here!**


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**I'm incredibly sorry about this shorter boring chapter. Anyway, it looks to me like I'll be writing Gwen into the Iron Man films! I think I've actually got enough feedback from you guys already. I watched the two movies yesterday and got some more ideas.**

**Nagrom Renin: Thanks for your input! I'm definitely going to do it.**

**Arrows the Wolf: ding ding ding you got it haha. You're the first won to guess it. I haven't actually watched any of the Christopher Nolan Batman films because I can't stand Christian Bale's voice haha.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Don't worry, there are!**

**Nerdsandmustaches: I know right? I don't even have to work at them haha. Don't worry, Gwen will live. Not easily though muahahahaha.**

**Loulyhoot: Thanks! And I'm glad to hear you would read it. I'm having a ball coming up with ideas for it haha.**

**MusicManiacGirl: Thanks for your input!**

**MysticRyter: Is it something I can help clear up? And she says thanks!**

**Jesusfreak2014: Thanks! I hate it too haha.**

**Guest: Don't worry, I could never kill Gwen!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Haha I had a feeling you'd say something like that. Hopefully Hulk catches you as you fall. I wouldn't want you to ruin your face. That would suck.**

**Livea: I hate being told what to do too haha. Oh man, I'm sorry to hear all of that! That's really horrible. And thanks!**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! And yes, TO ASGARD!**

**LianaDare8: I'll see what I can do about the X-Men!**

**morbidly-funny: Thanks! I love Sigyn, or at least my Sigyn haha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Don't worry, Gwen will live. There is just a little bit of heartbreaking scenes before she gets better. Hahaha Single Ladies. It honestly kills me to make them suffer like that. I don't even know why I'm doing it haha. Hopefully you like what I do with Green Goblin. He's the reason some bad things happen. I'm honestly having those "It all makes sense now" moments while I'm coming up with ideas haha.**

**AngelVamp6688: Someone will fix her! Eventually...and I'm glad you'd think it'd be awesome haha.**

**mercy. pond: Your review isn't lame haha. And thanks for your input!**

**KookyNorthWestern: Happy day late birthday!**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

Although Gwen didn't know the true reason, Steve immediately went into sweetheart mode. After Bruce left, Steve got Gwen a bottle of water and placed it beside the bed so that she wouldn't get dehydrated. He forced her to go back to sleep seeing as she was still tired. During the time she slept, Steve took care of everything. He even called Tony to tell him he wasn't leaving Gwen's side until she was better, not even bothering to speak the other alternative ending.

Gwen woke up at about two in the afternoon, no longer feeling exhausted but now feeling incredibly hungry and thirsty.

"Steve!" she called. Gwen realized that her throat was burning. Fantastic.

Steve came in almost immediately, almost as if he had been waiting for her to wake up and call him. He came and sat down on the bed next to her and kissed her forehead.

"How're feeling?" he asked. "And no sarcasm."

Gwen smirked. "My throat hurts and I'm slightly dizzy."

"Can I get you anything?"

"I'd be forever grateful if you got me some soup."

Steve smiled. "On it. Just lay down for now."

While Steve was off making her soup, Gwen propped up all the pillows behind her so she was technically laying down and then turned on the television. She settled for turning on re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond.

Steve eventually came back with her bowl of soup and down next to her as she ate. Simply having him there made Gwen calm down a lot. Once she finished, Steve took the empty bowl and left it in the kitchen. He then came back and had her lay down, but he stayed next to her. She was still propped up enough to see the television with ease as she curled up next to her husband. One arm was draped over his chest and held her hand, drawing shapes on the back of it with his thumb.

"I'm sorry you have to take care of me," muttered Gwen.

"I don't mind," answered Steve.

"I just feel bad about this."

"Don't feel bad. It isn't your fault."

Gwen sighed. "I love you."

Steve kissed the top of her head. "I love you, too."

* * *

Peter stared up at the building Gwen Stacy lived in. Careful not to be noticed, Peter successfully climbed up the wall leading up to the roof. What he wasn't expecting was for Gwen to be standing there.

Gwen stared at him in shock as he stood before her. He looked around and then back at her.

"I - uh - hi."

"How did you - ?

"It's, uh, it's a long story."

The two stood next to each other, looking out over the city.

"My dad says there's this new guy out there," said Gwen. "He's some sort of spider guy."

Peter laughed. "Spider guy?"

"Yeah. He was wearing this unitard or something."

"What is your dad gonna do about it?"

Gwen shook her head. "Probably arrest him. Y'know, for seventeen years I've seen my dad put on that badge and his gun and go out every morning and I don't know if he's gonna make it back."

There was silence for a moment before Peter spoke.

"I wanna tell you something," he said.

Gwen leaned her face close to his and Peter wasn't quite sure how to react.

"What is it?" she asked.

He leaned on the edge of the building. "I want to tell you, but I can't. I just - I can't."

Gwen sighed. She seemed very frustrated with Peter's mysterious attitude. Suddenly, she turned around and began to walk away.

Peter panicked and shot out a web at Gwen, effectively stopping her and pulling her to him. She had to place her hands on his shoulders to stop herself as she looked down in shock at the web.

"Oh my God."

And then they kissed.

When they leaned back, the two were out of breath and had smiles on their faces.

Gwen looked down at a watch she had on. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I should probably head inside."

"Yeah - I - uh, should probably go, too," said Peter, using his thumb to jab towards the city.

"Yeah, sure," answered Gwen, a smile still on her face.

She watched as Peter jumped off the edge of the building, most likely climbing down.

Gwen sighed as she headed back inside. "Oh, I'm in trouble."

* * *

At the top of Oscorp Tower was the dark office of Norman Osborn. Said man was standing at the window in this office, his hands clasped behind his back, looking out over New York. Avengers Tower was visible from where he stood.

Norman smiled, glad that von Strucker was gone. He didn't care who this "MODOK" was. All he cared about was that AIM had finally decided to give him the go on his mission. Between the phone call and this moment, AIM agents had delivered the necessary tools for finishing his glider.

He turned around and walked towards a tall, glass case that stood against the wall of the office. Inside was what he would soon become. The eyes of the Goblin mask stared back at him and Norman showed no more fear of his childhood phobia. He wasn't scared of goblins anymore. Ever since the accident, he had become one.

Norman turned around again and walked to a table in the center of the room. On it sat his glider and beside it several small pumpkins. It may have been the wrong time of year, but these pumpkins sure were...explosive.

He smiled as he ran a hand along the glider, his eyes going back to the window. Soon it would be time to test it all out. And it just do happened that New York City was the perfect guinea pig.

* * *

Days went by. Bruce called every one of those days to see how Gwen was doing and also to update her on how things were going. Both Gwen and Steve were hoping every time that phone rang it was Bruce calling to say they ha a cure. Gwen could tell Steve was getting a bit impatient and wasn't quite sure why. She thought there was enough time for them to get something together before it was too late.

However, Steve remained doing everything he could for her. He brought in her laptop for Gwen to use when she was feeling up to it. She received a report from Stephen about the weapons vault and how someone that could use magic was behind it. This made Gwen uneasy about the situation.

From as far as she knew, no Asgardian had come to visit it a while. Jane was becoming worried, convinced something bad happened on Asgard. Tony blamed Loki for everything, even for his toaster breaking even though it was clearly Tony's fault. He just didn't want to admit it to Pepper who was now back in California doing her job as CEO until further notice. According to Bruce, Tony was annoying everyone seeing as Pepper wasn't there to stop him.

Gwen remained in bed during these days. She found herself getting incredibly bored at times. She didn't have the energy to read and digest a book so that was out of the question. Even the magical world of Harry Potter wasn't an option. So she resorted to watching a lot of television shows and movies. She caught up on her favorite shows like Legend of Korra and Doctor Who.

Steve remained by her side as much as he could. Gwen was always comforted when she knew he was there and taking care of her, though she felt guilty at times. Maybe if she hadn't insisted that she was fine when her cold started they could've found this sooner. It wasn't like it would've helped though. They still had no idea of what to do.

So all Gwen and Steve could do was wait. It was torture having to wait, but it had to be done. However, Steve had refused to tell Gwen exactly what was happening to her. He just couldn't tell her. Besides, if she was just going to get worse, then she'd figure it out on her own.

As he laid next to her, he could tell she had fallen asleep. Steve always stayed with her when she was tired as she had trouble falling asleep. Sometimes he fell asleep himself as he didn't want to risk waking her up by moving.

Steve absentmindedly moved loose hair away from her face and felt a pang of sadness. In a month he'd probably never be able to do this. Instead he'd be alone. Steve felt pure anger for AIM and what they did. What did they have against Gwen? It was supposed to be him they were trying to kill, not her. Steve also felt anger for Loki. This wouldn't be happening if the god hadn't used the Tesseract on her. It was all really his fault. Steve promised himself that the next time he saw Loki he'd give him a good punch in the face.

* * *

Inside Tony's main lab was not only the genius, but Bruce and Hank as well. The three were putting their heads together, figuratively of course, and trying to figure out how to get the Adaptoid under their control.

"What if AIM has a camera in its face and they're watching us right now?" asked Hank, twirling a pencil in his hand.

"Like some messed up Trojan horse?" answered Tony. "If they are I have a few things to show them."

"Stark," said Bruce, not even looking up from the tablet he held, "do not take off your pants."

Tony quirked an eyebrow at him. "I never said I was going to take off my pants."

Bruce looked up now, his eyes staring over the rims of his glasses. He didn't even have to say anything, his expression said it all.

"For your information, Banner, I was going to take off my shirt."

"Because von Strucker would be so interested in the ARC reactor," said Hank lazily.

"No, he would be interested in my amazing chest."

"Remind me why I'm friends with you again."

"Because I'm awesome."

"Why do I feel like this isn't a good enough reason?"

Tony raised his arms in surrender. "Hey, I'm not the one oblivious to a woman coming onto me."

"What?"

"Oh, boy," muttered Bruce with a sigh, turning back to his tablet.

"Don't tell me you haven't caught on to Janet's advances."

"Oh, she told me she likes me," said Hank casually.

Tony quirked an eyebrow at how Hank was doing nothing about this situation.

"And what did you do?"

"I told her I like her."

"Define like."

Hank shrugged. "She's pretty. And her DNA is very interesting. I'm going to take a look at it one day."

"Then let me give you an idea."

Tony walked up next to Hank and stood next to him. Hank looked down at the genius without any hint of emotion.

"You're going to ask her to go to lab so you can run some tests on her. You make small talk, find out what restaurants she likes and then ask her to dinner at one. You then take her out to dinner and be charming, no science talk. Unless she likes that stuff, then lots of science talk. You then bring her back and tell her you'd like to do this again and then leave."

"What?" asked Hank. "That doesn't make any sense, just leave? I thought that I'd have to say goodbye at least."

Tony facepalmed. "That's just common sense, Pym."

"Oh, I see."

"Good. Now get going."

"What?"

"You can't just hang around here all day, go ask her out!"

"But I-"

"Do it or I smash your helmet."

Hank looked from his helmet to Tony and then to his helmet again.

"Fine." Hank purposefully picked up his helmet and walked out of the lab with it.

"You need a hobby or something," commented Bruce. "Or maybe Pepper needs to come back."

"I can breathe without Pepper here for five seconds, okay? And for your information she's got a lot of work to do."

"Like what?"

"Like getting me someone to zip your mouth shut."

Bruce smiled as he confined to scroll on his tablet, feeling like he won the conversation.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**I'm honestly surprised I got this one done for today. Hope it does not disappoint!**

**LianaDare8: You're on the right track with the Asgardians curing her.**

**Guest: Never mess with Hank's helmet! Haha.**

**Guest: Maybe Gwen will get Steve to like it haha.**

**hellgirl-fan1: No, Peter is with Gwen Stacy who is different than Gwendolyn.**

**angeltears666: Thanks! I love writing those scenes in here haha.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! At least Tony's chest probably looks normal now haha. Sigyn does need to fix this. What's wrong with them.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: I KNOOOOOW omg haha us and calling people idiots.**

**Livea: Haha don't worry he won't be stripping at all today.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Then it's Batman's voice. Basically the one he also uses in Terminator Salvation. It just makes me wanna smash something haha. I've seen a part of one movie, whichever one has Two-Face in it. To be honest, I love the villains more than I love Batman haha.**

**MysticRyter: Basically at comic-con they announced the lineup of films which is Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man.**

**Amelia St. Claire: Thanks! I'm glad you'll read it when I post it!**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I wish Gwen was real myself haha. Wow, that's actually pretty interesting. I'm glad you shared that with me. It makes sense total though. I can guarantee you that Peter fights Green Goblin in the next chapter. I have the perfect idea in mind for a date between Hank and Janet that is perfect haha. But it will go well, even though there will be awkward moments. Those are the best.**

**Lindsay: Heck yeah!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

In the West Coast Avengers Tower, Clint drew back an arrow. He let it go and it hit the target with a thump. Bullseye. Clint was indifferent to this seeing as he expected nothing less. Especially because this was his last arrow and all of the fourteen others he had with him had landed in the center.

After retrieving his arrows, Clint stored his bow and quiver away. He then entered the elevator and had it take him down to Erik's lab. That's where Erik and Rhodey would be. Well, possibly Rhodey. He sometimes had to leave and do other things.

But sure enough, as Clint entered the lab, both men were there and were discussing something. Clint figured it had to do with Gwen. They had gotten a call from Bruce about it, informing them of her condition. Erik wasn't too phased by it as he didn't know her that well, but both Clint and Rhodey were worried about her. Besides, Clint was the one who took her on her first SHIELD mission.

Of course, there was nothing any of them could do. Their only job was to continue searching for AIM bases. Perhaps if they could find the cowards they find something that could help Gwen. Or at least that's what Clint liked to think.

"Hey guys," said Hawkeye as he came inside the lab.

"Look who left his nest," joked Erik.

"Very funny. You guys hear anything yet?"

"Nope," answered Rhodey. "All I know is that Pepper left Malibu and is heading back to New York."

"Y'know," said Erik, "how come we haven't heard from mother bird since she left?"

Clint rolled his eyes at Erik's nickname for Bobbi. "I'm sure she's busy."

"She could've informed us about Gwendolyn," suggested Rhodey.

Clint hadn't thought about that. It was strange why she hadn't told them. Maybe she didn't like Gwen or something.

"I dunno," said Clint. "I'll call her tonight."

"I'm surprised Romanoff hasn't killed her yet," laughed Rhodey.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't tell me you haven't seen the daggers she shoots at your wife, Barton."

"No, I haven't."

Erik rolled his eyes. "Next time it'll be real daggers."

"What are you guys saying?"

Rhodey sighed. "We're saying that Romanoff is jealous that you married Bobbi."

"Natasha doesn't think of me in that way."

Both of the other men scoffed.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," said Erik, ignoring the confused look on Clint's face.

* * *

Back at the East Coast Avengers Tower, Natasha was looking down at the report on suspended animation that Gwen had stuffed in that bag after breaking free at AIM's base. She was trying her best to figure out why they left it there for them to find. And it also made sure she wasn't in contact with Bobbi who was getting on her nerves.

"Natasha."

Speak of the devil. Natasha turned around to see Bobbi, her blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. The redheaded assassin didn't say anything.

"What happened, Tasha?" asked Bobbi. "Why aren't we friends anymore?"

"You tell me."

Bobbi scoffed. "What, you hate me because I married Clint?"

Natasha didn't answer.

"So you do, huh? This is stupid. You know Clint and I loved each other before I left and now I'm back. What did you expect?"

Natasha found it hard to restrain herself. What she had expected was Clint to not accept Bobbi back so fast. She had expected him to be more careful as she had broken his heart when she left.

"Did you think that Clint would actually consider you more than just a colleague? Think logically Natasha. Clint's only ever loved me. He's never loved you."

That did it.

Before Natasha could stop herself, she rushed forward and flipped Bobbi over. The blonde was so surprised by what had just happened that she simply laid on the floor for a few seconds. But she was also an assassin and therefore composed herself quickly. After Bobbi was up, the redhead swung out her leg and knocked the blonde on her back. Natasha was ready for any attack Bobbi would make and dodged every single blow.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Natasha was suddenly pulled back, just as Bobbi was. Frustrated, Natasha kicked at whoever was holding her back. Bobbi was doing the same exact thing.

It seemed Tony and Bruce had stopped the two of them, Tony holding Natasha and Bruce holding Bobbi. The two women were both frowning, wanting to get at the other one and use their nails this time.

"As much as I love a good cat fight," said Tony, "what is going on here?"

"Yeah," agreed Bruce. "I thought you guys are friends."

"Were," answered Bobbi, flipping a loose strand of hair out of her face. "We were friends."

The blonde shoved Bruce aside and stomped away, Natasha doing the same to Tony but in the other direction.

Tony smiled. "Let's go see if JARVIS got that on camera."

* * *

It didn't take long for Gwen to become completely and utterly bored. Sure, she found herself feeling worse over each day, but that didn't change the fact that Gwen was going mad.

The only times she got up was the use the many purposes of the master bathroom and occasionally to sneak out into the kitchen when Steve wasn't paying attention. He wasn't keen on her eating unhealthy things, but Gwen thought

that since she was dying, if she wanted a Three Musketeers she was going to damn well have one.

At the moment, Gwen was sitting up in bed, the covers only covering her lower body. She recently acquired a fever which was a good thing according to Bruce. Apparently that meant her body was trying to fight any infection or disease she had. What she didn't know was that it didn't matter. She was dying anyway.

However, Gwen's face was slightly flushed because of this fever and she found herself either too hot or too cold. She even kicked Steve out of the room sometimes simply because she'd be uncomfortably warm from his body heat.

The television was on and was playing James Cameron's Avatar. Gwen was occasionally zoning out and then coming back to reality by loud sounds, for example like when the doorbell rang. Of course, Gwen was curious who was at the door. She figured it was Bruce or Tony coming to see how she was doing in person.

However when the door opened, it was neither of them. It was instead Pepper.

"Pepper!" Gwen exclaimed the best she could without hurting her throat too much.

"Hey, Gwendolyn," said the CEO as she walked up next to the bed and sat down on the edge. "How're you feeling?"

"Sick, but I think I'm getting better."

Pepper smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. I managed to find some time to get away from Stark Industries so I could come back and see you."

"That's very nice of you."

"Besides, I wanted to ask you if you and Steve could come to Easter dinner at the Tower."

Gwen's face lit up. "Of course! I mean, if I'm, y'know, better."

"I understand. Besides, no one would let you leave the house if you weren't better."

What the two women didn't know was that Steve could hear their conversation and couldn't help but feel his heart drop at their words. He wasn't even sure if Gwen would be alive by Easter. Obviously Bruce hadn't told anyone else about Gwen's situation.

Even if Gwen was alive by Easter, Steve wasn't sure if she'd be near death or just incredibly sick. All he knew was that she was just going to keep getting worse and worse until she was gone.

"I think Tony would be really happy to have you guys there," continued Pepper. "I honestly think he feels kind of guilty about all of this."

Gwen furrowed her brow. "What?"

"I mean, he's the one who convinced you to join SHIELD. If he hadn't you'd still be working for him."

"I would've come to the Tower though, right?"

Pepper shrugged. "I suppose, but he probably would've sent you back to Malibu once things got ugly."

"Probably. So how's everything else going?"

"Natasha and Barbara got into a fight. Like, full out girl fight."

Gwen gasped. "Physical fight?"

"Yep. Neither one are telling what happened so we're guessing it was about Clint. All we know is they're not friends anymore."

"They were physically fighting over Clint?"

Pepper shrugged. "I honestly don't see why Clint eloped with Barbara. They don't seem alike at all."

"I know! At least I'm not the only one that thinks that."

"Natasha must be taking it pretty hard."

"Yeah. I mean, I know her from her training me and me then tagging along with her when she was undercover to spy on Tony. I know she has feelings for Clint."

"Exactly! I just don't understand."

"Is Tony still annoying people?"

"Not when I'm around. Bruce basically took Tony by the collar and threw him at me when I got here. Apparently he's going stir crazy. Jane joked that the reason Stephen went back to Atlantis was to get away from him."

"Why?"

"He's searching for a cure for you."

Gwen knew it shouldn't be surprising that Tony was searching for an answer. But what was surprising was that he wasn't leaving the Tower, or maybe even the lab, because of it.

Once Pepper left, Steve of course came in to see if there was anything he could do for Gwen. She shook her head and laid down on the bed after turning off the television. Steve brought the sheets up over a now sleeping Gwen and kissed her forehead before leaving her to rest.

* * *

Inside the cafeteria, Hank found himself engrossed in a book on astrophysics. He looked up when he heard the door open and in walked Janet. It seemed she didn't notice him at all which meant Hank was going to have to be the one to start conversation. Great.

His conversation with Tony played through his head and Hank had to remember what he was supposed to do. First step was to ask if it was okay to do some tests on her in his lab where he'd ask her about restaurants. That's all he had to do. It couldn't be so hard to ask that, could it?

Hank stood up and approached Janet nervously.

"Um, Janet?"

She turned around and looked at him. A smile played on her lips as she realized how nervous he was.

"Yes, Doctor Pym?" she asked.

"Is it - I mean - I was wondering if it was okay if I ran some tests on you?"

She certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"Oh - um, yeah. That's fine."

Hank let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. Smiling, he nodded.

"How about you come to my lab at about three tomorrow?"

Janet nodded. "That works."

"Great. That's - that's great. I'll uh, well I'll see you tomorrow."

Janet smiled at him. "It's a date."

* * *

Norman looked over New York City from the roof of Oscorp Tower. Windows in buildings were lit up and cars looked like little dots running around on the road.

He was wearing a full body suit that was the same green color as his goblin mask. He smiled as he put the mask on his face, now becoming someone else entirely. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He had been planning this for so long. And now it was about to happen.

A small brown shoulder bag hung across his body and inside were those explosive pumpkins. At his feet sat his glider. Smiling behind his mask, Norman stepped onto the glider and his feet slid into place. Using the right controls, the glider lifted off the ground.

Norman shot his arms out to keep his balance until he was standing without any trouble. So far so good. Now it was time to test the flying.

He dipped down and the glider moved forward and downward. The air whizzed by him as he zoomed through the sky, the people below pointing up at him. The people of New York didn't particularly like unidentified flying objects, especially after the Leviathans. Those were a scary sight.

After coming to the conclusion that the glider worked fine, that left one more thing to test. Stopping in the sky, just above Times Square, Norman reached into the bag and pulled out one of his pumpkins. He pressed a button on the bottom and heard the explosive start ticking and laughed as he threw it in the air and flew to a safe distance. He watched as the pumpkin fell into the middle of the cars and exploded.

Vehicles went flying and screams could be heard. Everything was going perfectly so far. Norman reached in for another pumpkin, thinking about where he was going to use it. He could already hear the sirens coming this way. He wondered briefly if those "Avengers" would come, but by then he'd be gone. Unless he enjoyed this much more than he thought he would. Then this might turn into a party.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**First of all, I don't know if any of you were affected by the shooting in Colorado, but if you are, my thoughts and prayers go out to you. What happened is so terrible and it breaks my heart that not only over a dozen people are dead, but one of them is a six year old. That's just heartless. I also feel kind of awkward because this chapter is kind of similar to the whole psycho attacking people. And I wrote this yesterday. Deja vu.**

**Also, i don't know what's up with this website, but this chapter wasn't showing up so I'm reuploading it. Hopefully this works.**

**Anyway, sorry that this chapter is more Peter centric than Gwen centric. She's still in there though.**

**Itsgoose2u: There's just too many feels haha.**

**Arrows the Wolf: I know, right? All versions of the Joker freak me out haha. He's just creepy.**

**Lena Sauran: I honestly don't know who'd really win haha.**

**angeltears666: I know, I love Clintasha haha.**

**MysticRyter: That's exactly how I felt haha. I'm so excited ASDFGHJKL;**

**LianaDare8: They'll get there eventually! I don't even remember when to be honest.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Your reviews don't suck! (I do think we're running out of things to jump off though.) Haha that's a great book idea. We should totally do it.**

**morbidly-funny: That's actually good haha. I'm trying to make her more hated.**

**AngelVamp6688: I'm glad you enjoyed the fight haha. I did too to be honest.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: I'm glad you're getting attached to her haha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I was cheering for Natasha too haha. I hope you like the fight. It didn't turn out like I thought it would, but I'm pretty pleased. I wanna give Steve a hug too. I feel like such an evil writer for torturing him haha. I'll make sure to get more of those bromance moments in there haha.**

**hellgirl-fan1: That's good to hear!**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen**

Gwen was awakened by some sort of force and she felt irritated by it.

"What?" she groaned, slowly opening her eyes.

"Something's happening," answered Steve.

Gwen felt him sit on the edge of the bed and sat up to see the television on. It looked like some news coverage from in the air above Times Square, but something truly was happening. There were police cars surrounding a huge fire. Cars were turned over and a banner at the bottom of the screen said that four people were dead and many others injured.

"What in the world is going on?" she asked.

"They say there was a bomb that went off or something. There was also someone flying in the sky."

"A person?"

Steve shrugged.

"Are the others suiting up?"

"I dunno."

"You should find out and help them."

Steve looked over his shoulder at her. "I'm not leaving you alone."

"What if they need your help?"

"If they do they'll come for me. But for now I'm staying here."

Gwen didn't argue as she stared at the news channel. She normally wasn't on this end of the battle. She was generally out there fighting and then watching news later. The only other times she was watching the news when something happened other than disasters that affected the world was when Puente Antiguo was attacked and when Loki lead the Chitauri into New York.

Now here she was, watching someone attack New York. The scariest part was that she was in New York herself, granted she wasn't in the city. But there was nothing she could do but wait for the others to stop whatever was going on.

* * *

The moment Peter saw the news, he immediately made his way out of the house and to the Avengers Tower. He had been tempted to simply go to Times Square himself and not wait for the others, but he was a part of a team now. He couldn't just abandon them and go alone.

And so Peter entered the Tower and picked up his skateboard which he used to get there. He took the elevator up and as he walked out he caught sight of the others hurrying about and in their suits. Peter saw Bruce walk by and the man noticed him.

"You here to fight, Parker?" he asked.

Peter nodded.

"And Tony gave you a suit, right?"

Peter nodded again.

"Then suit up."

"Already on it."

After Bruce left, Peter walked to the side of the hallway and took off his jacket and t-shirt revealing the top of his suit. He then slid off his pants, revealing the bottom of his suit. He reached into his bag and took out his mask, sliding that over his face.

"Lookin' good webhead."

Peter looked up and saw Tony standing in front of him in his latest Iron Man suit, his face plate up revealing a smirk on his face.

"Thanks Tin Man," answered Peter.

Tony's smirk vanished. "Tin Man? _Tin Man_?"

Peter walked past him, following Natasha into the conference room. No one was sitting and were instead waiting for orders.

"Alright," said Fury, "since Rogers isn't here, I'm telling you what to do. Romanoff, Morse, Johnson, Parker go take a Quinjet to Times Square. Try to treat the wounded and get people off the streets and into safety."

"No offense," said Peter, "but I don't need a jet."

Fury nodded. "Fine. You and Stark go search the sky for whatever is doing this. Cage, Banner, Pym, you all stay here just in case the Tower is attacked. Get to work."

Everyone did just that. Daisy didn't look pleased with the idea of going with Natasha and Bobbi, but didn't say anything and instead helped load some medical supplies into the Quinjet along with some of the medical team. Tony took off into the sky immediately while Luke, Bruce and Hank went separate ways. Peter found himself standing on the helipad once the Quinjet had taken off and leaned from foot to foot.

"You can do this Parker," he muttered to himself. "Just do it."

Following the orders he gave himself, Peter jumped off the building and shot out a web. He saw it hit the window of a nearby building and air whizzed by his face as he flew through the sky. Peter let go of the web and shot another one, making his way through the city.

"See anything yet?" Peter asked through his earpiece to Tony.

"Nada. Wait, scratch that. I see a figure flying around the Chrysler Building. I can't make out what it is though."

"I'm heading there now."

Peter could see smoke rising from Times Square from his height from the ground. He wondered exactly what happened.

"It's on the move going north," said Tony. "I've lost sight of it."

Peter kept up his swinging with his webs until he could see a figure himself. He saw an arm raise and then something being thrown. That certainly wasn't good.

* * *

In an outside sitting area for a small cafe, several citizens of New York were enjoying a bit of a late-night snack. However, many were scattering after the explosion in Times Square and were hurrying to get home.

Something suddenly dropped from the sky and people panicked at the sight of the ticking pumpkin and scrambled to get away.

Just as the pumpkin was about to explode, some sort of web shot at it and pulled it away. The customers watched as the bomb was thrown into the sky and exploded a safe distance away.

They all gasped as the spider like guy that had been shown on the news landed in front of them all out of nowhere.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Peter.

Everyone nodded slowly, all of them too shocked to give a proper answer.

"What are you?" asked a man who was holding his kid protectively.

Peter turned to him. "Spider-Man."

He then shot a web at a streetlight and went swinging away.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't wanna go?" asked Gwen for the twelfth time before coughing into her sleeve.

"I'm staying here with you," answered Steve. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Steve put his arm around Gwen as she leaned into him. He kissed the top of her head and took hold of her left hand.

"We're getting reports that someone is swinging around on what looks like webs," said the news anchor. "Here's the footage."

Gwen watched as the screen changed to show a man doing just as described. He was wearing a red and blue suit and looked like he was on a mission.

"That's Peter, isn't it?" asked Gwen.

Steve didn't answer. The screen changed again to show Tony flying through the sky as Iron Man and another smaller square of footage showing the destruction on the streets.

"They better find this guy quick," muttered Steve.

* * *

Peter landed on the ground and looked around at the sky. He couldn't see Tony nor could he see a mysterious figure.

"Freeze!"

Peter rolled his eyes as he turned around, but instead of seeing a regular police officer, he saw George Stacy, his gun raised and aimed at Peter. There were several other officers standing around also aimed at Peter.

"Down on the ground, now!" he yelled.

Seeing no way out, Peter complied and got down on his knees. He stayed still as George slowly approached him, his gun still raised. Peter didn't look up as George took off his mask. It didn't take a genius to recognize Peter. George seemed stunned that the guy his daughter was dating was the spider guy they were searching for.

"Listen, Mr. Stacy," said Peter. "I have to go find whoever is doing this."

George didn't answer.

"You've gotta let me go. I can do this."

It felt like hours before George moved, his action being putting down his gun.

"Everyone hold your fire!" he called. "He's friendly."

Before Peter got up, George extended a hand to him, the mask in his hand.

"You're gonna need this."

Peter smiled as he took the mask from his hand. After sliding it onto his head, he stood up and shot another web, effectively swinging away from the officers and their cars, now searching the skies for the man behind all of this.

* * *

While flying throughout the New York sky, Tony finally caught sight of the figure floating by an office building.

"I see him!" exclaimed Tony. "JARVIS, turn thrusters to full throttle."

"Yes, sir," said JARVIS.

Tony shot through the sky like a jet and ran right into the figure in the sky. They went flying backwards and hit the glass window of the nearby building. The two of them rolled onto the floor after landing on it. Tony stood up and looked down at the figure.

"Good Lord, it's a...actually I don't know what it is."

"I'm a goblin, you idiot!" said the man behind the creepy green mask with yellow eyes.

"Alright Green Goblin, what d'you want?"

"What do I want? What do I want?"

"If you say that one more time I'll punch you in the face."

"There is no need. Happy Halloween!"

"What? That better not be some sort of catchphrase because then I feel bad for your creativity."

However, Tony saw that the Goblin had taken out some sort of pumpkin and it was ticking.

"Oh shi-"

Tony only had two choices. One, go for the bomb and save most of the building or two, go after the Goblin.

Instinctively, Tony went for the bomb. He gave it a good kick with his Iron Man foot and it went flying out another window. It exploded in the sky, shaking the building only slightly, but other than that there was no damage. Tony gave a sigh of relief.

When he turned around, the Goblin man was gone, flying through the sky once more.

"Parker, Green Goblin's headed towards Central Park," stated Tony.

"Green Goblin?"

"It's what he looks like, give me a break."

"Heading there now."

* * *

Below him, Peter could see police cars also headed to Central Park. He wanted there to be some way he could get them out of there. He knew that they didn't stand a chance against these explosions or this "Green Goblin" guy.

For one thing, Peter felt at liberty to protect George for Gwen's sake. These pumpkin explosives would surely kill him if Peter didn't stop this maniac from throwing them.

Peter tried to go faster. As he came close to Central Park, he could now see a figure hanging in the air. If he could just go a little faster...

The figure came more into focus and Peter had to agree, it was a Green Goblin. Tony wasn't just giving someone a nickname this time. However, this psycho was now reaching into his shoulder bag and held several round objects in his hands. Peter realized this must've been what was left of the explosives.

The police cars were parked outside and inside Central Park. In short, they were everywhere. But standing next to his squad car and right below the Goblin was George.

"Put the bombs down and come down from the air!" called George's voice through a megaphone.

"No!" Peter yelled, knowing no one could hear him except Tony. "Stark, where are you?"

"Trying to get there," answered the genius. "There are a lot of injured people."

Peter swung forward again. If he could just attack this guy, he could stop him. But just as Peter got close enough to be seen, the Goblin dropped the ticking pumpkins. He could see the police officers making a run for it, but it was no use. If they had gotten away from the bombs they were hit by the cars and other debris. Peter faltered in his web slinging and smacked onto the ground, just narrowly avoiding an overturned car. He looked up and saw the Goblin zoom off. Peter really didn't care where he was going at the moment.

"Peter..."

Spider-Man turned to see George, most of his body underneath the hood of the overturned car.

Peter used all his strength to move the car off of George. He then took off his mask and looked the man in the eye.

"It's gonna be okay," said Peter hurriedly, even though there was too much blood and damage for George to be okay. "I'll get help."

"No," said George. "I need you to promise me something."

Peter nodded.

"You keep Gwen out of this. You stay away from my daughter. You keep her out of this."

Peter looked around for someone to help them, but it was hopeless.

"Promise me," ordered George.

Peter looked back at him.

"Promise me!"

Spider-Man nodded and watched as George's eyes slipped closed and he took his last breath.

Peter felt panic rise in his chest as tears spilled over. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. He was supposed to save George. He wasn't supposed to die. Yet here Peter sat, next to the dead body of George Stacy and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Goblin man's gone," came Tony's voice. "Look's like he ran away."

Peter didn't answer.

"Parker, where are you?"

"I'm - I'm in Central Park. Police Captain George Stacy is dead."

"Did you know him?"

"Yeah. Yeah I did."

"I'm sorry, kid. I'll find the others and send them your way."

Peter didn't answer and instead sat back. He felt horrible. Gwen's father was dead and it was basically his fault. If he had just been faster this wouldn't have happened.

He didn't notice when the Quinjet landed next to him and ambulances started pulling up. Bobbi was running to treat people before the medics could get to them and Natasha was speaking on the phone. Peter didn't fight as Daisy pulled him off the ground and towards the Quinjet. She sat him down and pulled off his mask. She didn't say anything as she teated the cuts on his face.

Everything felt like it was going in slow motion. Peter stayed on the Quinjet while some of SHIELD's medical crew arrived to help. Apparently Tony was circling the city, trying to see if he could find out where true Goblin went. But it was no use. The guy was gone. And so was one of New York's finest.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**I'M SORRY THIS CHAPTER IS SO SAD. Well, just the beginning. The ending not so much. Also, sorry about the last chapter not showing up yesterday. I finally fixed it last night so if you haven't read it, go back and do so.**

**MysticRyter: I'm sorry! Don't cry!**

**morbidly-funny: Sorry 'bout that haha. It won't be confusing for long, trust me. And thanks!**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! I love having Peter in this story too haha. He's so great.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I knew you'd have feels haha. I support Superfamily too haha. It's so great. I'm really glad you liked that battle. I was honestly pretty worried about it not being good enough. I've always wanted someone to call him Tin man haha. I know, I feel the same way. I actually liked the Joker and now it's weird. My mom thinks the shooter wanted to be in the movie but decided to do so in a psycho way. There was actually a girl from a city like twenty minutes away from me in Wisconsin here that was in the theater next to it. It was sort of a small world moment.**

**LianaDare8: I'm sorry! They'll come soon, I promise!**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

Nearly a week passed. March was beginning to come to an end and, unfortunately, so was Gwen. Bruce came to visit only once in this time as they were very busy at the Tower trying to find a way to cure her and also trying to find out who this Green Goblin was. There were no blueprints from AIM that suggested they were a part of this, so they all figured this was a line act.

A funeral was held for George Stacy. It was ironic how it rained that day. Gwen, of course, didn't know anything about the man, but she learned that he was the father of Peter's girlfriend. She then felt sorry for Peter, knowing he was probably blaming himself. Gwen knew there were just some people in this world that would always blame themselves for things, like Steve.

However, Gwen was beginning to realize that maybe she wasn't getting better after all. Despite the fever, she was feeling more and more weak and was sleeping for longer periods of time. Everything about her hurt and she didn't know what to do.

Steve would lay with her in order to calm her down. Gwen was afraid to close her eyes at times. She was scared that she'd never open them again. Gwen didn't want to die. She wanted to get better and track down this Green Goblin. She wanted to rid the world of AIM so no one had to be tortured by them again. She wanted to grow old with Steve an have children in a safe world that was created by them and the rest of the Avengers.

Gwen felt tears coming to her eyes. She tried to hide them by looking away from Steve who was beside her yet again, but she couldn't stop her shaky breaths from escaping.

Steve sat up, bringing Gwen with him. She could see his heart break through his eyes at the sight of her crying. Gwen always tried so hard not to cry. She hated feeling weak and looking weak in front of others. But there was no denying she felt even worse than weak at the moment. Gwen felt defenseless, she felt sick. She was terribly scared beyond relief.

The sobs didn't come until Steve wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't take it anymore. She was dying and he knew it.

"I don't want to die," she sobbed into his shirt.

"I know," he answered, his voice just barely a whisper. Gwen knew he was trying to be strong for her. She knew he wanted to make her happy, but there was no way he could deny that he was dying along with her. Not physically of course, but to see her suffer was killing him. But, being the sweetheart he was, Steve wanted to be there for her in a situation like this. Even if he felt the same way as her.

Gwen wasn't sure how long she cried. All she knew was that Steve was holding her and that he was stroking her hair. She knew that she probably ruined his shirt with her tears, but it felt so good to get it all out.

Once she had calmed down, she allowed Steve to lay her back down. He laid beside her, his arms still around her. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as she moved around to a more comfortable position.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"Don't, Gwen," he replied.

She leaned back to look at him, her eyes red and puffy, her cheeks tear stained.

"Don't what?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Don't act like that."

"But Steve, you know what's happening-"

"I'm not losing you."

Gwen felt like crying again. Steve loved her so much. She didn't want to leave him. Gwen knew he'd live on for her, but he'd do so miserably. To have found another woman to love after finding out he'd been frozen for seventy years and then lose her as well must feel terrible.

_What am I thinking?_ Gwen asked herself. There's still hope.

Yet, even as she thought it, there was no hope.

* * *

There was a steady rainfall as Gwen Stacy stood at Peter's door. She wore a gray jacket and a matching hat, her eyes slightly red from her father's funeral. She held an umbrella in her hands and twisted it around as she waited.

Peter finally came to the door and opened it. She looked at his pained expression and sniffed.

"Where were you?" she asked softly.

He didn't answer.

"My dad is dead," she continued. "Classmates were there, even some of my teachers showed up. Everyone was there; except you."

Truth was, Peter had been there, just out of sight as he watched the Stacy's mourn the loss of their loved one.

"Gwen, I - I can't see you anymore," said Peter.

"What?" she asked.

Peter didn't answer.

"What are - what?"

"I can't see you anymore."

After a moment of thought, Gwen hastily opened up her umbrella and walked down the steps. However, she stopped at the bottom and turned around.

"He made you promise, didn't he?" she asked, referring to her father.

Peter didn't answer.

"He made you promise to stay away from me."

Peter remained silent.

Frustrated, Gwen turned around and walked back to her car. Peter sighed and went back inside where Aunt May was standing.

"She's pretty," she said.

Peter laughed softly. "That's what Uncle Ben said."

"Are you gonna ask her out?"

Peter shook his head he went upstairs to his room, trying to ignore the aching feeling in his heart from watching Gwen walked away.

* * *

In Hank's lab, the said man sat, working on his helmet some more. He was clearly obsessed with the thing. Besides, he needed something to do while he waited for Janet. He didn't know exactly why he was nervous for her to come, but he was anyway. All he had to remember was restaurants. Ask her about restaurants.

Hank heard the elevator open and turned around to see Janet. She wore a blue cardigan, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. It actually looked very nice with her auburn hair. She smiled as she stepped out of the elevator and into the lab.

"Hello, Hank," Janet greeted.

"Oh - uh, hi," answered Hank.

"So you wanted to look at my DNA or something?"

"Yeah, uh, why don't you come over here."

Janet did so. Hank brought over two chairs for them to sit upon.

"First I'm just going to take a blood sample if you don't mind," said Hank.

"It's fine."

Janet then removed her arm from the sleeve of her cardigan. Hank picked up a small disinfecting hand wipe type thing cleaned the skin on the opposite side of her elbow on her arm. Once done, he picked up a small needle and stuck it in a vein.

"So," he said while the needle took in her blood, "do you like restaurants?"

Janet smirked. "Restaurants? Do I like them?"

Hank took out the needle once it was filled and put it back on the counter.

"Yeah," he answered, picking up a band-aid. "Do you?"

Janet nodded as he put the band-aid on her. "I do actually."

"So, um, would you like to-"

"Six o'clock tomorrow night. Meet me in the parking garage. I know a restaurant I really like."

Hank was surprised by Janet's answer and was glad that she at least had confidence while he didn't.

"Will that be all, doctor?" asked Janet.

Hank cleared his throat and nodded. "Uh, yeah. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Hank."

Janet was smiling the entire time and walked back to the elevator. She gave a small wave before the doors closed.

Hank forgot where he was for a second and turned around in a way that his hand smacked his helmet and it crashed to the ground, effectively breaking into several pieces. Fantastic.

* * *

It was yet another day of sparring and Loki was getting bored of it. He, of course, wasn't complaining about the fact that Sif and the Warriors Three weren't treating him like vermin. However, he could tell they would be especially rough with him.

But this time, Loki sat next to Sigyn at the edge of the arena while Thor and Volstagg sparred. Sigyn was reading yet another book on healing and Loki was fighting the urge to look at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Come on, Volstagg!" exclaimed Thor's booming voice. "You can do better than that!"

Volstagg swung his sword at Thor who ducked. The two of them were smiling and having a good time.

"When was the last time someone visited Midgard?" asked Sif out of nowhere.

"I visited last," answered Fandral. "All was well."

"And when was that?"

Fandral shrugged. "It could not have been too long ago."

"You do not remember when?" scoffed Sif.

"Sigyn," whispered Loki who was sensing an argument brewing, "take my hand."

She looked up at him and then at his hand and smirked. Knowing he was up to something, she put her warm hand in his cool one. Suddenly, there was a whoosh of air and the two of them were no longer in at the arena. Instead they were in a meadow. Seeing as it was still winter, the flowers were not yet bloomed. Yet it was still one of the most beautiful places in Asgard.

"Where are we?" asked Sigyn, her hand still in Loki's.

"In one of the palace gardens," he answered. "It is much more peaceful here."

"Indeed and it is beautiful."

Sigyn turned back to Loki with a dreamy look on her face. She obviously loved this choice of location.

Out of nowhere, Loki put a hand on her face, his fingers reaching for her hair. He leaned down slowly until their lips almost touched. Sigyn seemed to sense that he was worried about her reaction, so she moved forward so they finally made contact.

Loki felt exteme warmth go through his entire body as he kissed Sigyn. He quickly realized this warmth was happiness. True happiness. It was hard to believe this man had tried to take over Earth and was responsible for hundreds of deaths. Yet here he was, kissing someone and feeling truly accepted.

Of course, all good things must come to an end. He hadn't realized that Sigyn had wrapped her arms around his neck and his other arm had went around her waist and pulled her closer.

Sigyn was smiling big despite Loki's blank expression. He wasn't quite sure what to do. As she looked at him, her smile began to fall, disappointed in his reaction. But once Loki saw the corners of her mouth flip directions, it was enough for him to finally have a reaction. He smiled. It wasn't just one of those fake smiles he put on to make his family happy, it wasn't a mischievous or villainous smirk, it was a true and genuine smile. His emerald eyes sparkled with light as he kissed her again, but much more confidently.

In all honesty, Loki could've kissed her all day long. Now he knew what Thor felt like with the mortal Jane. It was a feeling of such happiness that Loki wasn't even sure if this was real. It would just be his luck that this was some sort of dream, but when Loki pulled back and opened his eyes, Sigyn was still there and her lips were still pulled into a smile. And at that moment, Loki completely forgot about all the anger he ever had. At that moment he was happy.


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Okay, I'm sorry that this chapter isn't of Gwen getting cured. But I will tell you that this is the last chapter (which is sort of boring and a filler. I know that.) before something happens. That is all I will say.**

**ALSO is anyone else fangirling over the _Man of Steel_ teaser? 'Cause I am.**

**angeltears666: I know right? He totally does.**

**Lena Sauran: Awkward Loki is the best. Don't worry, Gwen will live! I could never kill her.**

**Liliesshadow: Glad you were smiling :D**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: She will eventually! Don't worry.**

**LianaDare8: You are correct! Good job haha.**

**Arrows the Wolf: It's okay. I'M SORRY. At least this chapter isn't as depressing.**

**Itsgoose2u: I had to write in some fluff there haha. The rest was just so sad.**

**MysticRyter: Yay! The part that talks about how they made Chris Evans skinny is actually really interesting. And the one-shot is great.**

**AngelVamp6688: I sure hope there aren't any copycats. I honestly think this guy was just wacko. I'm all excited about Cap 2 haha. I was so disappointed when I heard rumors the villain was MODOK because I predicted it'd be the Winter Soldier since like last year.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Now that you pointed it out I can't stop laughing omg. My parents looked at me weird. I didn't know the actual name for it hahaha.**

**morbidly-funny: I suppose there's two ways to take my response haha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I can't tell you how sad I was when I wrote that breakdown haha. I LOVED AUNT MAY AND UNCLE BEN. They were so perfect omg. I've made it my own little inside joke with myself that Hank keeps destroying his helmet haha. I like your theory there. You'll find out of you're right or not next chapter (though it will be Sigyn).**

**La Bella Figura: I honestly thought about that too. It just seemed easier for her to be at home as she hates hospitals and all that, so if she's dying it would just be more comfortable in her own home. If they were to find some sort of cure they could bring her in, but since there is no way to stop her from dying, they must just figure she'd rathe be comfortable. I hope this made sense 'cause I'm confusing myself haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty**

It was the day before Good Friday when Gwen got yet some more visitors. She was awoken by the doorbell ringing and was at first peeved at the fact someone had disrupted her sleep, but her anger went away when both Bruce and Tony came into her room.

"Hey, buttercup," greeted Tony happily like always.

"You guys have a cure?" asked Gwen hopefully.

Tony and Bruce both glanced at each other before looking back at Gwen.

"We're still working on it," answered Bruce.

Gwen's heart fell slightly as she had been hoping they came bearing good news.

"Did you find anything out about that Goblin guy?"

"Actually," said Tony, "we did. It seems that whoever it was came from Oscorp Tower."

Gwen's eyes widened. "Really? D'you know who?"

"Nope," replied Bruce. "But we are assuming that whoever it was must work there or at least have some sort of connection."

"Could it be that Connors guy?"

"We're checking into it."

"Connors has only one full arm," stated Tony. "It probably wasn't him."

"Have you done any research on that guy?"

"Only a little. Fury wants us focusing on Green Goblin and helping you. Actually, you seem to be his priority."

"Are you serious? I didn't think Fury had a heart."

"It may be made of cold rock but it's still there."

Gwen smiled, enjoying Tony and Bruce's presence. It definitely put her at ease more to have them there.

"So anyway," said Tony, "Pepper says that you shouldn't come to dinner if you're not better by tomorrow."

"Does she actually think that's

possible?" asked Gwen.

Tony shrugged. "It's Pepper. She's hopeful."

"Just be happy about it," said Bruce. "She's roped in all of the females into cooking with her. She'd be after you next."

Gwen laughed. "I would die if I had to spend a day cooking with Pepper."

At first Tony and Bruce didn't laugh, unsure of how to react to Gwen joking about dying. Gwen then furrowed her brow as she repeated her sentence in her head.

"I just made an inappropriate joke about my own condition," she muttered. "I must be losing it."

"You were losing it when I met you, Gwenie," replied Tony.

"I think I'll let that nickname pass this time."

* * *

The phone rang in Norman's office and he pressed the speaker phone button as he finished drawing out the improvements he was going to make on his glider.

"Norman Osborn," he answered.

"I saw your work in New York," came MODOK's voice. "Impressive."

"Thank you. It's nice to finally get my chance now that von Strucker's dead. I must thank you for that."

"No thanks is necessary. I could see no way that AIM could grow in HYDRA's shadow. Though there is someone out there that could be of use."

"Oh, really?"

"Mr. Osborn, have you ever heard of suspended animation?"

"Yes, it is slowing of life processes by external means without termination."

"Do you know anyone who has gone through this? Perhaps a patriotic fighter?"

Norman smiled. "Ah, Captain America?"

"Precisely. And what if I told you he wasn't the only one of his time to be in suspended animation?"

_Hmm_, thought Norman, _this could be interesting_.

"Go on."

* * *

It was a minute before the bell rang and Peter was still at his locker. He pulled out the right books and stuffed them into his backpack.

"Hey, Parker!"

Peter turned and saw Flash walking by him. On his shirt was unmistakably the same spider symbol that Peter wore. He smiled at the sight of it.

"Nice shirt!" he called as Flash continued on.

He turned around, looking down at his shirt. "The guy's kind of cool."

Peter smiled as Flash continued down the hallway. However, he couldn't help but see Gwen Stacy leaving her locker and heading to class. She passed Peter but didn't acknowledge him.

He then continued onto class, arriving inside after the bell rang.

"You're late again, Mr. Parker," said his teacher.

"Sorry, I promise it won't happen again," he answered as he took his seat behind Gwen.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Peter smirked as he leaned forward towards Gwen. "But those are the best kind."

It didn't take a genius to know that Gwen was smiling to herself as Peter sat back, his smirk still upon his face.

* * *

It was around four o'clock when the doorbell rang again. Steve shot up and left the room faster than Gwen could get up herself. She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she heard footsteps approaching the door. She watched as Peter walked inside.

"Hi," he said while awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

Gwen smiled. "Hi, Peter."

She then unfortunately coughed and could tell Steve was probably fighting the urge to run inside the room to see her. However, he remained out and Gwen patted the side of the bed for Peter to sit down. He came over and did so.

"I saw the news footage from that battle," said Gwen. "I'm assuming you're the amazing Spider-Man they're talking about, right?"

Gwen had been seeing a lot of news coverage talking about Peter and how he was climbing on walls and swinging webs.

Peter laughed. "Yeah, I am."

"Well, you did a good job for your first fight."

Gwen saw something cross his face, almost like he disagreed with her statement.

"Have you - have you ever felt responsible for someone's death?" he asked quietly.

"I suppose. Why? What happened?"

"There's this girl. Her name's Gwen Stacy."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Well - I think so. Y'see, her dad was there when that guy, that Goblin attacked. He was killed."

"Oh, Peter. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's just, I feel like it's my fault. Same thing with my Uncle Ben. If I had just done something, things could be different. They would be alive."

"Let me tell you something, Peter. The longer you dwell on what could've happened, the worse things will get. The guilt will eat you up until you feel nothing but that guilt. What you need to realize is even if you could've done something, there is nothing you can do now. And now you could be doing things to make sure you don't make that same mistake again."

Peter looked from the wall he'd been staring at to Gwen. He nodded. It seemed maybe he wasn't at the point of accepting this yet as Gwen knew what that felt like. She knew it was stupid, but she always slightly blamed herself for her parents' deaths, her mother's even more than her father's. It wasn't like she could've stopped it, but she felt like she could've delayed it.

"If there's one thing being with SHIELD or the Avengers will teach you," continued Gwen, "is how to deal with this stuff. You're going to see death, Peter, whether you're responsible for it or not. But you have to learn to not let it affect you."

"How?"

"It'll just get easier. Trust me."

* * *

Once Peter was gone, Steve came back into the bedroom. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he just couldn't find the right words.

Instead he laid down next to her and wrapped her in his arms. He took in a deep breath. Gwen knew her condition was becoming more and more troubling to him, but was being surprisingly calm. It certainly helped Gwen stay sane when Steve wasn't freaking out.

"Are you ever going to get fresh air?" asked Gwen.

Steve laughed. "I'm fine with being inside."

"Seriously, Steve. You've been cooped up in this house all month. Don't tell me you're not going stir crazy."

"I know the moment I go outside is the moment you'll need me."

"You're so paranoid. Lighten up."

Steve then furrowed his brow and turned his head to look at Gwen who was now smirking.

"What's up with you?" he asked.

"I dunno. I guess this whole dying thing is making me loopy. I feel like the energizer bunny."

"The what?"

"Modern expression. Never mind."

Steve gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "We have time. Explain it to me."

* * *

It was Good Friday and most of the Avengers found themselves in the conference room. Fury had called a meeting to talk about Gwen and see if anyone had made any progress.

But they hadn't. No one knew what to do.

But what Tony couldn't understand was what was AIM's motive for doing this. What did they have against Gwen? They wanted Steve dead, not her. He was their priority. Unless...

"That's it," Tony thought out loud.

"What's it?" asked Daisy.

Tony stood up suddenly and started pacing as he thought.

"They're after Rogers," said Tony. "That's their first goal."

"But why?" asked Natasha.

"AIM is from HYDRA. Rogers ended HYDRA. They want vengeance for it."

"So they sent the Super-Adaptoid specifically to kill him," said Bruce, catching on.

"And they knew about Gwendolyn," added Tony. "She was their backup plan. If they failed to kill Rogers, they would take Gwendolyn because they knew she means something to him."

"So they take her," said Hank, "and they experiment on her. But then what did they do?"

"They sped up the process of her dying," said Bruce. "They realized that she was dying and they decided to play God."

"Exactly," agreed Tony.

"But then why did they make it so easy to get her and Parker?" asked Luke.

"They wanted us to find her. They sped the process up and then let us get her. Almost like a bomb. They found another way to get back at Rogers."

"Torture," said Daisy.

"Exactly. Torture. They're forcing Rogers to watch his wife, his reason for existing, die a slow and painful death."

"But I thought they wanted him dead," said Bobbi.

"They'll attack after she dies. Rogers will be at his weakest while he's grieving. Maybe he'll even beg for death, I dunno. But this is the ultimate evil plan."

"But why go through so much effort to get rid of one person?" asked Hank.

"It's a distraction," said Tony. "We're so focused on trying to save Gwendolyn that we're too late to prevent anything AIM does. They're making us choose. Stop AIM or save Gwendolyn. We can only pick one."

There was silence as they all thought.

"I, for one, vote save Gwendolyn," said Tony.

"Me too," added Bruce.

"This team needs her," agreed Luke.

"You don't even have to try to convince me," said Daisy.

"We need to save her," stated Natasha.

"Agreed," said Hank.

"Wait a minute here," said Bobbi, making everyone turn to her. "I thought our goal was to stop AIM. We can't just put that aside for one person."

"Are you kidding me?" asked Tony. "Are you _seriously_ saying that?"

"What d'you think, Fury?" asked Bruce who seemed to realize Tony was about to go berserk on Bobbi.

"I think," said Fury, "that Gwendolyn Powers is a big asset to this team. Besides, we lose her, we lose Rogers too."

"Two birds with one stone," recited Daisy. "That's part of their plan, isn't it?"

"We have to tell Rogers," said Bruce.

"What good would that do?" scoffed Tony. "He's suffering from watching Gwendolyn die. The only thing he wants to hear from us is that we can save her."

"But we can't," sighed Hank. "We've tried everything."

Silence blanketed them again. They had tried everything. There was nothing they could do.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**Mondays are apparently Loki's day. So happy Lokisday I guess.**

**And I am aware this chapter is shorter. I apologize.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: You're just gonna have to read to find out :)**

**Lena Sauran: Haha sorry. Hopefully you stop spazzing soon.**

**MysticRyter: Then all is going as planned if you don't like her. Actually, if everything else goes as planned, there will be at least thirty chapters in total.**

**LianaDare8: I think you may be pleased with this chapter then :)**

**Itsgoose2u: Thank you! I think she's miss Tony eventually haha.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Haha that's actually really good to hear! I'm glad they seem real.**

**O. O TT. TT LOLz: I'd be worried if you didn't want to.**

**Brit. knee: That's okay! And yes, it is okay if Bobbi dies haha.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: OMG I think I'm actually gonna do that during that one part in the next installment I told you about. Except Olga and Bobbi wouldn't be in the same location. Maybe Olga can annoy Steve or something.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: How awesome would it be if Man of Steel is the start to a possible Justice League movie? I'd die. I want to punch Bobbi too. I think Andrew in the Avengers 2 would be like heaven. Especially if Ant-Man's going to be in it too. And it would be awesome if Bucky is too like Steve helps him get his memories back or something even if Bucky doesn't become Captain America after Steve gets shot. Osborn and Luthor ARE pretty similar lol. And yes, MJ and Harry will be coming back. They'll be much more important in coming installments.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One**

Steve sighed as he put away clean dishes, trying to be as quiet as possible. He was becoming a complete wreak, but was trying his best to appear strong. He needed to if Gwen didn't have long. But that was exactly why he was a wreak. Steve was preparing to lose his wife to the horror of death.

And he had cried. He wasn't afraid to admit it to himself. It had always been when Gwen was sleeping for he was with her the entire time she was awake. He wanted to spend every minute he could with her.

He looked at the clock and realized that Gwen had been asleep a very long time. Normally a when she did this he'd go and wake her up to make sure she was okay.

"Gwen," he said loud enough for her to hear after he entered the bedroom. "You need to wake up. You've been asleep for twelve hours."

But she didn't budge.

Steve walked to the edge of the bed and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Gwen, sweetheart, you need to wake up."

She still didn't move so Steve shook her a bit.

"Gwen?"

Panic mode set in as Steve pressed two fingers to her neck. He could feel a pulse and leaned down to listen for her heart at all just to be sure. She was alive, but something was wrong. Something was really wrong.

Steve rushed to the phone. His hands were shaking as he dialed Bruce's number.

"Hello?" answered Bruce on after one ring.

"She's not waking up," states Steve, ignoring the panic in his voice.

"Wait, she's - okay, we'll be right there. Natasha? Natasha! No, Stark I wasn't talking to you. No, you don't look feminine. Natasha, can you drive me to Gwendolyn's?"

There was a short pause.

"Alright, Rogers. Natasha's gonna drive me there and we'll check her out on the way back. Just give us a minute."

Without anything else, Bruce hung up.

It honestly wasn't a long time before Bruce and Natasha arrived in a SHIELD SUV. When Bruce got out he looked shaken as though Natasha had driven in a way he thought he was going to die. However, Natasha held a poker face like she always did. She never really showed much emotion.

"She's in the bedroom," Steve told Bruce.

"Alright, we'll get her on a stretcher and get her in the SUV. Then we'll bring her to the Tower and check her out. I want you to get a bag ready for her with necessities that she'll need when she wakes up. You'll have to drive your own vehicle though."

Steve nodded felt a bit better at the fact Bruce sounded so calm. However, his heart still pounded as he searched for his duffle bag in the basement. Once he found it, Steve hurried upstairs where they already had gotten Gwen in the SUV. He nodded and Bruce who left the house. As Steve entered the bedroom again to get things for Gwen, he could hear the vehicle start up and drive away. He wished he could be with Gwen at that moment but would prefer she be taken care of as soon as possible.

Due to his rush, Steve simply through things in the bag without thinking about it. Once the bag was filled, he got out to the Beetle seeing as Gwen would be upset if she had to ride his motorcycle home. If she got home.

Steve started panicking again a he thought about the bad potential outcomes. He knew in order to have a clear mind he'd need to put those out of his thoughts, but he couldn't help it. It was possible that by the end of the day, Gwen could be dead.

* * *

"How are they doing?" asked Amora as she approached the throne of the Other.

"Rebuilding," was his simple answer.

"They are not done yet?"

"Patience. They will be done when they are done."

"Fine. But I bring a suggestion."

"Then speak it."

Amora resisted the urge to slap him. "I believe the Tesseract may be on either Asgard or Titan. It is not on Midgard nor is the Gauntlet."

"So are you suggesting the Chitauri attack either location?"

"Yes."

"And what of Skruge?"

"What about him?"

"Can he not help your endeavor?"

Amora began pacing. "Skruge is on Jotunheim. The Frost Giants are rebuilding themselves. Once they are done, they will need a king since Laufey is dead."

"Does he think he is to be king?"

"Well, he is half-Jotun."

"It would never work."

"Do you have any better ideas? We could use the Frost Giants on our side."

The Other stood up quickly, making Amora stop.

"We already have the Chitauri and the Skrulls. We do not need another army."

"But," said Amora, turning on her seductive charm, walking up to face the Other, "what if we get them their Casket? Surely it is still on Asgard."

"It is risky."

"Yes, but with the help of the Frost Giants we could invade the realm. Take what is rightfully-"

Suddenly, the Other raised his arm and wrapped his boney gray fingers around Amora's neck. He raised her up, choking her and making her lose all concentration on the spells she had casted on people.

"If you are to serve me, I am to give the orders," he said in a warning voice. "That is final."

The Other finally let go and Amora went crashing to the ground. Humiliated, she cloaked herself with invisibility. Maybe she'd have to take matters into her own hands.

* * *

Both Loki and Sigyn were sitting in the palace garden, simply enjoying each other's company. It was quiet and peaceful, something they enjoyed.

Sigyn watched as Loki held a pebble in his hands. He closed them over the pebble as well as his eyes. He opened them all and instead of a pebble, a green daisy sat in his hands. He then placed it in Sigyn's golden hair as she smiled at him.

"It is beautiful," she said.

"Not as beautiful as you," he muttered.

She couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips as he leaned down and kissed her.

It was moments like these that Loki didn't think of anything except Sigyn. Sometimes when he couldn't sleep, those dark and villainous thoughts returned and he felt anger again. But the moment he was with her, it all went away.

Loki also felt foolish. How could he let a simple, mere woman change him in such a way. He was a _god_ and she was a little Vanir. He was meant to rule people like her. But when he looked into Sigyn's innocent blue eyes, he realized there was no way he could try to rule someone like her. She was innocent and loving, she was faithful and loyal. She was everything Loki needed to stay sane after he felt complete betrayal from his family.

However, their moment was interrupted by a guard who came into view. He held a staff and let it fall to the ground. Loki's hands curled into fists and Sigyn placed a hand gently on his arm to calm him down.

"Prince Loki," said the guard, "Heimdall demands your presence."

And with that, the guard left. Loki sighed as he turned back to Sigyn. He placed a small kiss on the top of her head.

"I will return shortly," he whispered in her ear before getting up and heading for the Bifrost.

Loki only had to walk to the entrance doors of the bridge that led to Heimdall's observatory. There stood not only the Gatekeeper, his sword in hand, but Thor, Odin and Frigga as well.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Odin as Loki approached.

"I have been clouded from part of Midgard," said Heimdall with his calm and deep voice. "A spell was placed on me to forget but it has gone away."

"Who placed this spell on you?"

"Amora."

There was collective gasps from all standing around.

"But she was banished," sneered Loki, unhappy with idea of Amora messing around with sorcery.

"But she is still alive," said Odin sadly. "I knew she was too powerful yet I only banished her."

"What can you see now?" asked Thor. "Is it Jane?"

"It is Gwendolyn Powers," replied Heimdall.

This caught Loki's attention.

"She is sick and only has a matter of hours left of her life. I fear chaos within the Avengers will erupt if she dies."

"Then we must save her," said Loki.

"The mortals have found no cure."

"Then we will bring a healer," suggested Thor. "We will bring the best in Asgard."

"Even the best in Asgard cannot save her," stated Heimdall.

"Sigyn..." muttered Loki. He then looked up. "Sigyn is a better healer than any of Asgard."

"But is from Vanaheim," said Thor.

"That does not matter. We can at least try if she accepts to come."

"So it is settled then," said Odin. "Thor, Loki, you are to escort Lady Sigyn to Midgard and save the mortal."

Loki nodded. "I will go and retrieve her."

He pivoted on his heel and hurried back to the palace garden. He wasn't sure if Sigyn would agree to go, but she really had no choice. He hadn't told her anything about the Avengers yet and didn't know if anyone else had told her. But it really didn't matter. Loki felt as though he owed this to Gwen. She honestly could've killed him at the top of the Tower after he had been in disguise for months, learning everything about her. Yet she had tried negotiating with him and trying to get him to stop. She even forgave him. And if it hadn't been for her, he would be having a self-pity party and would've never approached Sigyn.

"Loki?" asked Sigyn as Loki came into view.

"We're going to Midgard," he said, putting out a hand to help her off the ground. "I will explain on the way."

Loki just hoped they wouldn't be too late.

* * *

**Virtual shawarma to everyone who guessed that Sigyn would be healing Gwen. I think most of you already got it before this.**


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

**Good day everyone. Apparently Avengers 2 is set for 2015. Now we wait.**

**LianaDare8: And update I shall!**

**Lindsay: Ah, I see haha.**

**Nagrom Renin: Haha sorry. And thank you!**

**Itsgoose2u: Yay! Cue some really exciting music.**

**MysticRyter: I sort of explain her in this chapter but I've changed some aspects to fit the story better. She was actually sent by Odin to kill Jane because he thought she was a distraction to Thor during his exile. She's also super evil and seductive.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: I'm sorry about short chapter length. As for updating Elsa, I will post the next chapter when it's finished :)**

**morbidly-funny: I know right? I just want to give him a hug.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I feel like a terrible person when I make Steve feel horrible haha. I absolutely love writing Loki/Sigyn fluff. It's just do perfect haha. Wow, that gave you chills? I feel pretty awesome right now. I'll have to write more stuff like that. I think I'd die if they did a Justice League movie. I don't know who they'd put in it (hopefully Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Flash at least) but I would be awesome.**

**Guest: Thank you! I know, poor Steve.**

**Justasmalltown2713: Hahaha I'll has Olga send you the shawarma. I think you'd like that.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Over the bridge and through the Bifrost they go!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

After arriving at the Tower, Bruce immediately had Gwen brought up to the medical ward. The only problem was, he didn't know what to do. Fred began hooking her up to monitors and Bruce felt better when he could hear a beeping noise, alerting them that her heart was beating. But something was obviously wrong. It didn't take a genius to know that.

News of Gwen's condition spread fast. People became worried for her and Bruce realized that Gwen was actually well liked throughout the Tower. The only person that seemed indifferent was Bobbi and nobody really cared her about the moment.

Steve arrived pretty quickly. He went straight up to the medical ward and looked incredibly nervous.

Steve's heart was pounding as he paced back and forth in the medical ward. His hands were clasped behind his head as he moved around, unable to sit down. It was very possible he'd be leaving the Tower without her. When the idea sunk in, he felt like throwing some sort of tantrum. It just wasn't fair. He wanted to save her, he wanted to make her better. But he couldn't. He was hoping that they could do something that could at least wake her up so he could say goodbye. Maybe that could give him a bit of closure.

Tony was sitting in one of the chairs, Pepper next to him. She was on a laptop, but her face was completely serious. Tony's elbows were propped up on his knees, his chin in his hands. He looked very deep in thought.

Also sitting in the medical ward was Daisy and Darcy, the two of them looking at a notebook. Steve didn't know what they were looking at, but he didn't care.

Steve's head shot up at the sound of a door opening and closing. Bruce was leaving Gwen's room, Fred obviously remaining inside. Steve's heart fell at the sight of Bruce's grim expression.

"I'm not gonna lie to you," said Bruce. "There's nothing we can do, Steve. We think she'll stay unconscious until she's - until she's gone."

"There's gotta be something," replied Steve, his voice an octave too high, running a hand through his hair.

Bruce shook his head. "I'm sorry. There's nothing. We've tried everything."

Steve turned away and ran a hand over his face. He wasn't going to cry, not yet. Not in front of everyone.

Suddenly, the elevator door opened. Steve turned to see none other than Fury standing there. Why was he here? This place didn't need more depression.

"There's been an atmospheric disturbance," he said. "Agents Coulson and Romanoff have been sent to investigate."

Steve shook his head. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything right then. What did this matter to him? He was slightly hoping whoever was coming was going to try to take over the Earth. At least then he'd have something to take his grief out on. Though he would definitely prefer it to be every agent of AIM.

* * *

It didn't take long before Loki, Thor and Sigyn were ready. Sigyn had a small bag with her that held some complex potions in vials that would help and also her best book on healing. Thor held Mjolnir in his hand, looking impatient as they entered the stables. Loki was simply praying to the Norns that they weren't too late.

Loki helped Sigyn onto a white stallion after kissing her forehead. He could tell she was nervous and didn't blame her. Not only was it her first trip to Midgard but it was to save the life of a mortal. If Gwen died, Sigyn would probably feel slightly responsible.

Once they had mounted their horses, Thor lead the trio to the bridge as they made their way to the Bifrost. The horses feet clinked on the bridge as they ran, transporting their riders as fast as possible.

Once at the end on the bridge, they got off of their horses and quickly walked inside the observatory, Loki holding Sigyn's hand in his. They walked past Heimdall who did not speak and they stood at the hole on the other side. Loki could hear Heimdall insert his sword into the center and lights started flashing about like lightning. The dome of the observatory started spinning as Heimdall fully inserted the sword the Bifrost opened.

The three of then were pulled forward, the familiar feeling of traveling this way going through Loki. It was only seconds before they landed at the Bifrost site in New York.

They all landed safely on their feet. The sky was dark with night and there was a chilly breeze floating through the air, blowing the Asgardians hair out of place. Trees surrounded them and crickets were chirping.

"We should head to the Tower," said Thor after a moment of silence.

Loki nodded and he took hold of Sigyn's hand to comfort her. He felt her grip his tightly as her eyes darted around, taking in the new scenery around her.

The three of them began walking forward. However, they stopped at the sound of what Loki recognized as Midgardian vehicles. One soon came into view in the clearing they stood in. A door to the SUV opened and out stepped Phil. The passenger door opened and Natasha got out.

"Why are you guys here?" asked Phil as the two groups approached each other.

"We are here to save Lady Gwendolyn," stated Thor confidently.

"Very well," said Natasha. "We'll get you all to the Tower. Come with us."

* * *

After what felt like decades, the elevator opened again. Steve whipped around, stopping his pacing to look at who was arriving on this floor. He was incredibly surprised to see Thor step out and even more surprised to see Loki get out, holding hands with a woman much shorter than her. She had golden hair and pale skin. She was dressed in a pale blue gown that was far too fancy for earth.

"What is going on?" asked Fury.

"We learned of Lady Gwendolyn's condition," stated Thor. "Lady Sigyn is a fantastic healer. We have brought her to help."

Steve noticed that Sigyn was hiding slightly behind Loki and the soldier was incredibly confused as to why someone would do that. Perhaps she was his girlfriend or something. He really didn't know anything about Asgardian culture.

"Come with me," said Fury, motioning for Sigyn to follow him.

She looked incredibly nervous and it seemed Loki noticed this too. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded. He then went with her to follow Fury as though to give her comfort. Steve looked at Tony who was staring at the Asgardians in disbelief. Loki stopped as Fury led Sigyn inside of Gwen's room. He then looked around uncomfortably.

"I have no doubt Sigyn can heal her," he stated, slowly walking to stand next to Thor.

"Is she your girlfriend?" asked Darcy bluntly.

Loki furrowed his brow. "Well, she is a girl and my friend so yes."

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Are you guys a couple then?"

"I have been meaning to ask for permission to court Sigyn if that answers your question."

"Not really," muttered Darcy under her breath.

"Are you alright, Captain Rogers?" asked Thor, looking at Steve with concern.

Steve had one hand on his hip and the other ran through his hair. He gave a sigh.

"I'll be fine if Gwen gets better," he answered.

"How come you guys didn't know about this before?" asked Daisy.

"Heimdall was under a spell from a sorceress," replied Loki. "A very powerful sorceress. I am not very fond of her."

"What's her name?" asked Tony.

"Amora," said Thor. "She is also known as the Enchantress."

"She leaned magic under Karnilla, Queen of the Norns," added Loki. "She was rejected from Karnilla after using her magic for evil deeds and was banished from Asgard along with Skruge the Executioner. At first she was exiled to Midgard, but the last we heard she had escaped with Skruge. She is a master of invisibility which is why we could never find them again."

"Well obviously she's causing some trouble," said Tony.

"But, why did she cast a spell on Heimdall?" asked Darcy.

"We do not know," said Thor. "It is possible that there is something she wished to hide."

"What if she knew Gwendolyn is sick?" asked Tony, the gears in his head spinning. "What if she was trying to hide it because she knew you guys could save her?"

"What would she gain from that?" asked Steve.

Tony's eyes widened. "What if she's working with AIM?"

Steve rolled his eyes. "That's very unlikely."

"But it makes sense." Tony now stood up and started pacing. "What if everything is connected? What if both this Amora and Green Goblin are both working for AIM?"

"Now you're just making up some sort of conspiracy."

"No, listen! Amora made it so the Asgardians didn't know Gwendolyn is sick because she cast a spell. Green Goblin attacked New York, effectively distracting us. Maybe they don't know about each other, _maybe_ AIM is pulling the strings here."

"What do they have against Gwen?"

"She's your wife for one thing. They want you dead. They sent the Super-Adaptoid to kill you. But it was bested. Maybe they knew you'd live."

"This makes no sense."

Tony ignored him. "AIM seems bent on distracting us. They've left blueprints. They made Gwendolyn more sick. Why distract us _and _warn us?"

"That agent gave a warning," added Steve. "He said HYDRA's saying. He said that they're true leader was coming or whatever it was."

"Suspended animation. You were in suspended animation. But that's not why they left the report. They must be looking for someone else in suspended animation."

Realization dawned on Steve. "Johann Schmidt."

"What?"

"Red Skull. I think I was right. They're trying to find him. They must think the Tesseract sent him into suspended animation and they want to bring him back."

"The question is, for what? AIM's gotta be planning something big."

"World domination?" suggested Daisy.

"Universal domination," cut in Loki. "If this AIM you speak of is doing all of this then it is not simply Midgard they seek."

"We have to tell the others," said Tony."

But before they could do anything, the door to Gwen's room opened. Fury stepped out without any emotion on his face like usual. Steve's heart began racing. This was probably the moment he'd find out if Gwen was alive or not. Everyone watched as Sigyn stepped out of the room as well. She then quietly said three words that made Steve let out the breath he hadn't known he had been holding.

"She is alive."

* * *

**Okay, so I think you all knew she was going to live haha. Hopefully I've also got your minds working now.**


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

**I've been hearing a lot of rumors about Falcon being in Cap 2. I'm not sure how I feel about this.**

**In other news, Kristen Stewart cheated on Robert Pattinson. I hate her so I honestly am not super duper surprised.**

**LianaDare8: Yay! Update I shall.**

**Lena Sauran: Don't worry, Osborn will get his butt kicked haha.**

**MysticRyter: I could see Fury saying that too haha.**

**Itsgoose2u: Haha only good parents don't kill their children. Hopefully that makes me a good parent.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Yay! And yes, he may or may not be returning muahahahaha.**

**Loulyhoot: Hopefully this will suffice for now!**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Haha yeah. I could never kill her. Especially with three more installments after this.**

**mercy. pond: I will tell you that Bucky may or may not be making an appearance and may or may not have a relationship with Natasha.**

**morbidly-funny: Hahaha I didn't even realize that it's been 11 chapters. Wow.**

**Lucy Stark: Haha thank you very much! I'd probably squeal too.**

**AngelVamp6688: The only way for me to write a quality ending to a chapter is to make it a cliffhanger haha.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Haha without me you'd probably just go on with your life. You can keep Olga at your house for a while if you want. Steve is like our baby omg. And Loki is good hahaha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Sigyn's pretty badass in her own way haha. Haha Steve punching Patrick Dempsey. That's pretty funny in my head. I wish I could actually see that. I saw a picture of someone dressed as Heimdall going down an escalator. It was great. Phil better be alive. I don't care how, but he better be. I just love him so much. That actually is what's in that notebook haha. I will tell you that in the final battle of this series, Stephen will take on Amora. And it will be fantastic.**

**dragonrain618: I figured that Loki wouldn't know what a girlfriend is haha. And thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Gwen slowly woke up. She took a few moments to try to figure out what happened. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her bed. But this didn't feel like her bed. It was pretty comfortable, but she knew it wasn't her bed. She kept her eyes closed as she used her other senses to figure out what was going on.

For one thing, she heard beeps of monitors. The first thing she thought of was that she was taken by AIM, but the bed was comfortable. Obviously she wasn't kidnapped. Perhaps she was in a hospital. Was she in the medical ward? Why would she be?

She finally dared opened her eyes. She was in the medical ward. She even recognized the room. But why was she there? Gwen sat up and realized she felt better than she had in her entire life. Actually, she felt perfect. Did she die?

Gwen saw the door fling open and Steve walk in. He let out a breath that he must've been holding and rushed over to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Obviously she wasn't dead. Gwen smiled as he placed hurried kisses along her neck and let out another breath.

"I love you so much," he whispered, his warm breath tickling her ear.

"I love you, too," Gwen answered. "But if you hold me any tighter you might crush me."

Steve laughed and loosened his grip. "Sorry. It's just that I thought I'd never get to hold you again."

Gwen wondered if he could hear her heart shatter at his words. Just in case he could, she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shirt.

"How long have I been out?" Gwen asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"Only a couple of hours. Everyone's amazed at your improvement."

Gwen leaned back. "How am I better anyway?"

"Thor and Loki arrived. They brought a woman named Sigyn who's apparently an Asgardian healer. She made you get better."

"How come they didn't come before?"

"Some sorceress put a spell on the Gatekeeper so he couldn't see you."

"Why?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out. But we can explain our theories to you later. How d'you feel?"

"I guess perfect is the only word to describe how I feel. So the radiation is gone?"

"They'll perform some tests on you to find out. Don't give me those puppy eyes, you're going through these tests whether you want to or not."

Gwen sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry for making you go through all of this by the way."

Steve laughed. "You were dying and now you're apologizing for it?"

"I _am_ sorry though."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. And now that you're okay we can hunt down AIM and make them pay."

"You don't seem like someone who wants to get revenge."

"They're the reason you almost got taken away from me."

"Yes, but for now let's just rejoice in the fact I'm alive, okay?"

Steve smiled. "Alright. Speaking of you being alive, that means we can attend Pepper's Easter dinner."

Gwen groaned and let her head fall onto Steve's chest. "Fantastic."

"You sound sarcastic."

"That's because I am. Pepper once had me over the first Thanksgiving without my parents and she insisted on cooking so much food. We ended up giving leftovers to Tony."

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

"But with more people that means more food! And I like food, so this says something."

There was suddenly a knock on the door.

"Come in," called Gwen.

The door opened and in walked Tony. She couldn't help but notice that he looked incredibly happy to see her awake and healthy.

"Hey, buttercup," he greeted, putting his hands in his pockets. "I hope I'm not bothering you guys. I just couldn't wait."

"It's fine," replied Gwen.

"So how're doing?"

"Perfect, really."

"That's great. Y'know, you took dying a lot better than I did."

"That's because I didn't throw a birthday party and get super drunk in an Iron Man suit and nearly destroy my house."

"You know what, that was Rhodey's fault."

"If he hadn't gotten in the Mark II things would've gotten worse. Your guests were out of control and so were you."

"Then why didn't you do anything?"

"I did, remember? I tried talking to you, but you said I have pretty eyes and I told you that's what Hammer told me in Monaco and then you vowed to punch him in the face."

"Which _you_ did eventually."

"And he totally deserved it."

"Wait," said Steve, his brow furrowed in confusion, "who's Hammer?"

Gwen sighed. "Total idiot. He tried hitting on me in Monaco but I humiliated him by bringing up the fact that his company was failing at replicating Tony's suit."

Tony laughed. "I bet that was hilarious."

"It was until you got in the race car."

"And _that_ was fun until Vanko tried to kill me."

"Pepper was so pissed. You should've seen her face."

"Speaking of Pepper, she wants to know if you're going to come to Easter dinner."

Gwen groaned. "Not you too!"

"Hey, it won't be so bad. You and the ladies will chit chat in the kitchen while the manly men and I watch television."

"I'd rather be with the manly men."

"Cheer up, buttercup. Remember, you're alive!"

* * *

At the helipad, a Quinjet landed. The back opened and out stepped both Phil and Clint. Hawkeye looked around, still unsure as to why he had been brought here. Phil simply told him that Gwen was in critical condition and was being treated. He was seriously getting peeved at Bobbi for not updating him.

Clint followed Phil through the halls and into the conference room where Fury and Bobbi stood. Bobbi's face was slightly red from what Clint assumed was anger and Fury looked like he was about to throw something.

"What's going on?" asked Clint.

Bobbi turned to him and ran up and threw her arms around him.

"I missed you," she said.

"Yeah, uh, what's going on?"

"They're having you stay here in place of me. Apparently Stark has made some threats."

"What? Why?"

"I will explain," cut in Fury. "You should get going Morse."

Bobbi scowled and gave Clint a quick kiss before stalking out of the room.

Clint furrowed his brow as he looked at Fury who had his hands on his hips. His one eye was staring at Clint intently and it almost felt like his patch was staring at him as well.

"Are you aware of what your wife has been causing?" asked Fury.

"No," answered Clint slowly. "What happened?"

"First of all, Stark and Banner had to break up a fight between her and Romanoff."

"What?"

"And second, Stark is making threats because she was willing to let Powers die in order to stop AIM."

"That doesn't sound like Bobbi."

Fury sighed. "This is why I don't like my agents getting together."

"Listen, I'll talk to her when I get back. And I'll talk to Natasha here. I'll get this sorted out."

"Fine. But I don't want agents trying to beat each other up anymore. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now go."

* * *

After it was clear that Gwen was okay, Thor immediately took off in search of Jane. He learned from Darcy what floor her lab was on and went there first. He was surprised she hadn't come out to see him yet.

As the elevator door opened, Thor saw Jane hunched over a counter. Her back was to him and she seemed to be in deep concentration over something. Smirking, Thor walked over to her as silently as he could. But seeing as he was the god of thunder, he was naturally loud.

Jane looked up and smiled as her eyes widened. "Thor?"

He smiled as he opened his arms and let her run up and embrace him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Jane.

"Lady Gwendolyn was sick and my brother and I brought a healer."

"So Gwendolyn's okay?"

"From what I hear, Sigyn is a fantastic healer. We have been told Lady Gwendolyn is alive."

Jane let out a sigh of relief. Thor could tell that she had obviously been worried about Gwen. Perhaps Heimdall was right when he said that chaos would erupt in the Avengers if Gwen didn't survive. It seemed that more people liked Gwen than he thought.

"How long will you be staying?" asked Jane as she returned to the counter.

"I do not know. I believe Loki will want to take Sigyn back to Asgard as soon as possible, but I can stay longer."

"You should stay for Easter."

Thor furrowed his brow. "Easter?"

"Yeah, it's a holiday. It celebrates Jesus's rise from the dead. And then the Easter bunny comes and leaves eggs for kids to find."

"That sounds repulsive."

"And there's a big dinner that Pepper's having. I'm sure you don't find dinners repulsive, do you?"

Thor smiled. "Not at all. So it is settled. I will stay for this dinner of Easter."

"Good. You can just stay in my place here."

"Whatever you wish."

* * *

Loki could feel the magic. It was in the Tower and was certainly familiar. He knew exactly who it was.

After leaving Sigyn with Pepper, Loki went on the hunt to find the source of it. He eventually ended up going into the staircase and going up. What he didn't know was that he found himself in the hallway that lead to the Tower's weapons vault.

The magic was strong here. She was in this hallway, there was no doubt. He moved forward silently like a predator going in for the kill. She seemed to be moving slowly, taking her steps carefully. She was searching for something, no doubt.

Once Loki reached her, he put out his hand which seemed to grab a fistful of her hair and threw her at the ground. Her invisibility spell fell away and she smiled up at Loki who sneered down at her.

"Ah, Loki," said Amora. "Nice to see you again."

"What are you doing here?" he asked icily.

"Is that really any of your business, Odinson? Oh wait, that's right. It is Laufeyson, isn't it?"

Loki kicked her so that she went flying into the wall. Amora groaned from landing on her stomach and the impact and propped herself up on her elbows

"You do not know what is coming, my dear," she continued with her seductive voice. "There is still time to join us."

"Who is 'us'?"

"The greater powers of the universe. Join us Loki. We can give you the power you seek."

Loki crouched down to look at her better. "You know not what I seek."

Amora smiled and laughed. "There is no denying the betrayal you still feel. You still believe you are the true heir to Asgard."

Loki clenched his teeth. "I may enjoy power, but not like you do. I am not so pathetic."

"I am not the one who is putting all my goals aside for love."

Loki rose, feeling more confident when he was higher than Amora. How could she know about Sigyn? How was she even on Midgard and what was she looking for?

"Perhaps it is not love," hissed Loki. "Perhaps I seek something different."

It was a lie. Loki did love Sigyn, even if he wasn't ready to admit it out loud yet. But he didn't want Amora to know this. Sigyn was kind and innocent while Amora was cunning and persuasive. If she wanted to, she could lure Sigyn to somewhere dark and unknown and murder her. Loki wasn't going to let that happen.

"So is she a toy to you?" asked Amora.

"Just as Skruge is a toy for you," replied Loki, his silver tongue taking over.

"At least Skruge can get me somewhere. Lady Sigyn is weak. I have always seen that."

"Then you have not seen past her looks."

"I will ask you once more, Loki. Join us and you can have any realm you desire."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you will burn with the rest of them."

"Then burn I shall."

Scowling, Amora disappeared before Loki could do anything else.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

**Sorry I didn't post yesterday guys. I was helping pain the garage and just didn't have time. I also might not be posting tomorrow. I have a family party to go to.**

**MysticRyter: I don't know what's wrong with Clint. He's just turned into a big idiot.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Let's all punch Amora in the face.**

**pottersavengers: Thank you! I'll make sure to try to get their date in there haha.**

**LianaDare8: I must say that Tony may or may not be asking Pepper to marry him soon.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! I honestly see Loki as being very overly protective haha.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: I know right? They need to get thrown in a well.**

**snowyclara: HEY YOU. I was wondering what happened to you. I'm glad you're not dead though 'cause I considered that.**

**AngelVamp6688: I hope you like their conversation! I know it isn't much, but it's something.**

**Amelia St. Claire: I'm glad you thought it was funny haha. And thanks!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Aww, I feel the same way actually haha. LET'S BE FRIENDS FOREVER. And finally a chapter without idiot Steve. He is our little baby.**

**morbidly-funny: Sigyn wasn't there. She's just kinda hanging out haha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Sometimes I was like rooting for Ivan because Hammer was just so annoying haha. I actually have the perfect scene in mind for when Gwen does that. I have to admit, I would think Loki would hate Amora so I'm trying to like slowly reveal a backstory of how she like failed to seduce him or something I dunno. Hopefully Clint can do something good with this situation haha. As for Peter, he's really only going to be mentioned for a bit, but he plays a big role in the final battle of this installment.**

**Loulyhoot: Then my evil plan is working muahahahaha.**

**PJ-NCIS-TF-26: Thank you very much! Spidey has a special place in my heart haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

After going through some tests, despite her protests, Gwen was told there was nothing wrong with her. All traces of gamma radiation was gone. She wasn't sick or anything.

Or course, she had been worried that the shield around her brain was gone, but detailed x-rays showed that it was still there. Gwen was relieved seeing as she viewed it as part of her now. She'd be rather upset if it had been taken away from her.

From what she was told, everyone was alerted about her recovery. Calls had been sent to the West Coast, Atlantis and even to Peter. Gwen wondered how he was doing, especially after her conversation with him.

Loki suddenly appeared, giving news of the sorceress Amora being in the Tower, but according to him she was gone. Where she did, he didn't know. Many people were freaked out at the idea that someone got in, but Fury calmed them down. Gwen had to admit she was slightly freaked when found out what hallway this was in. Obviously it had been Amora that had gotten into the weapons vault. But what was she looking for?

All Gwen could think of was the Tesseract and the Infinity Gauntlet. Perhaps even the scepter Loki used on his first attempt to rule Earth. But those were all on Asgard and were apparently guarded heavily. Basically it sounded like a whole army stood in the way of anyone who wanted these items.

Tony came in once more to visit her before heading off to bed with Pepper, telling her she didn't need to come into the Tower for a week. Gwen argued, of course, saying that she had just spent the last month stuck in bed, but Tony heard none of it. But Gwen wasn't going to listen. She never had before, why should she start now?

* * *

Clint searched for Natasha for a while before he found her in a training room. She was beating up a dummy, her red hair flying around with her like a fire.

"Hey, Tasha."

She turned around and looked a bit shocked at seeing him.

"Clint," she replied, shaking her hair out of her face. "What are you doing here?"

Clint shrugged. "Bobbi got sent back to LA and I got sent here in her place."

"Really?" Natasha seemed rather happy about this new situation.

"Yeah."

It was silent for a moment.

"So you and Bobbi had a fight?" Clint asked.

Natasha nodded. "Yes."

"About what?"

She shrugged but didn't speak.

Clint sighed. "I don't know what happened between you two, but I want you to know she's acting out of line."

Natasha furrowed her brow. "What?"

"I honestly don't know what's up with her. She's - she's turning into what she used to be like before she left. It was this arrogance that got her taken by AIM all those years ago. She never updated us Gwendolyn's condition at all."

"She suggested we let her die."

Clint's eyes went wide. "What?"

"She said we should focus on AIM, not Gwendolyn's life. Stark got pretty pissed."

"I would imagine."

Clint approached Natasha and put his hands on her shoulders. He then looked into her eyes.

"I know now that you and Bobbi don't get along and I don't blame you. But I want you to know that I'm not taking sides and I'm not abandoning either one of you for the other. We're partners, Tasha. We've been through hell together."

Natasha didn't seem to know what to say so she nodded.

Clint nodded back and turned around to leave.

"Hey, Clint?"

He spun around to look at Natasha again.

"Pepper's having this Easter dinner," said Natasha. "You should come."

Clint smiled. "Sounds good."

"Great. We missed you."

* * *

Gwen sat own on her bed to tie her shoes when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called as she slipped on her right shoe on the proper foot. She heard the door opened and looked up to see Loki standing in the doorway, his hands behind his back.

"Hi," Gwen greeted.

"Lady Gwendolyn," replied Loki with a slight bow of his head.

"Thank you for bringing Sigyn and having her heal me. I do have one question though."

"What is it?"

"Why?"

Loki paused for a moment. He then took a few steps inside the room.

"I owed it to you," he answered.

"How?"

"You have great power. Power that you could easily use to harm others. But you don't. Instead you use it for good. Which leads me to ask you the question I have. Why did forgive me for what I did?"

"What d'you mean?"

"I am responsible for hundreds of mortal deaths. I tried to use you against your friends."

"I believe in second chances and forgiveness. There are some people who do such terrible things that they shouldn't be forgiven, but in some cases, like you, I think you deserve a second chance. Besides, you have daddy issues."

Loki scowled. "I do not have 'daddy issues.'"

"Oh, come on. That's a terrible lie. I know when someone has daddy issues. But seriously, even if you are on good terms with your father, that doesn't mean you don't resent him."

She saw Loki's jaw clench and she rolled her eyes. This guy was never going to get over anything, was he?

"So," said Gwen, "Sigyn. I feel like I remember you saying her name before."

Now Loki rolled his eyes. "Perhaps I mentioned her."

"Have you asked to court her?"

"Not yet. But I plan to."

"Do you love her?"

Loki paused and Gwen wondered if he didn't love her. But then she realized this was Loki.

"I suppose," he answered at last.

Gwen smiled. "I bet she loves you, too."

"How would you know that?"

"If she didn't love you she wouldn't be spending time with you and she wouldn't have come to Earth to heal me. She definitely loves you."

Loki was silent for a moment and Gwen could see his brain working. He then returned to normal and gave a slight bow to her.

"Farewell, Lady Gwendolyn. Sigyn and I will be returning to Asgard now."

Gwen saluted him. "Adios."

Loki looked confused, but nodded his head. He then pivoted on his heel and left the room.

* * *

There was no way to describe Gwen's excitement at being released from the medical ward. To think that less than twelve hours ago she had been unconscious and on the brink of death was weird. So she didn't think about it. She was finally going home without sickness and wasn't planning on getting sick anytime soon.

It was nearly one in the morning as Steve picked up the duffle bag he had brought, refusing the let Gwen carry it. That figured. Almost everyone had gone to sleep at this point, leaving Fred the only person awake. Gwen was curious if the man ever slept.

He waved goodbye as Gwen and Steve stood in the elevator, their hands intertwined. In truth, Steve seemed the happiest he had been since the wedding. She expected nothing less.

She got into the Beetle, thankful Steve hadn't taken the motorcycle seeing as it was still pretty chilly out. He drove them home, one of his hands still grasping hers the entire ride. It seemed to Gwen that if Steve let go of her then he'd die or something like that. Gwen seriously enjoyed the fact that someone loved her so much.

Once they got home, Gwen went to change into some pajamas. She wasn't exactly tired, but she would be if she didn't at least try to sleep.

After changing, she came into the bedroom to see a beautiful bouquet of flowers laying on the bed. A smiled crept up onto her face before she even realized it. A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. She felt Steve nuzzle face in her hair and kiss her lightly.

"I got them when you were talking with Loki," he muttered. "I had wanted to before, but I didn't want to leave you."

Gwen honestly didn't know what she had done to deserve someone like Steve. It was funny to her when she thought about the conversations she'd had with Phil where he fanboyed over Captain America. She had never really thought much about him other than he was an American hero. Little did she know, she'd end up falling in love and marrying that American hero.

Gwen turned around in his arms and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss.

"Mmm," he mumbled, "I'll never get used to that." He rested his forehead against hers. "I wish this whole thing was over. Then we could finally go on our honeymoon."

Gwen chuckled. "I honestly forgot about it."

"Once it is over with, we can finally just have time to ourselves."

"Mmm."

"But for now, goodnight."

She was surprised when Steve left her and picked up the flowers. He took them into the kitchen and she heart water running, he was most likely putting them in vase. After a few minutes he came back and raised his eyebrows when he found Gwen still standing there.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you be old?"

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I feel energetic, Steve!"

Gwen then proceeded to fling herself on the bed. Steve made no move to join her as she rested her hands together on her stomach.

"I think being healed the way I was is, like, giving me a major energy boost. My head feels completely clear. Actually, I feel like I could jump off a cliff."

"I'll make sure to keep you away from cliffs then."

"There is no possible way I can sleep right now."

She closed her eyes in frustration. She then heard Steve fumbling around, most likely getting into his own sleepwear.

Gwen opened her eyes when she felt Steve climb on top of her and kiss her lips ever so gently.

"If you try to go to sleep now, I promise we can be late to Pepper's dinner."

"Hmm." Gwen put her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" muttered Steve.

"Suck up."

Steve smiled and kissed her again. By the time they pulled away they were completely out of breath.

"Seriously though," said Gwen. "I'm not tired at all."

"Maybe I can help with that."

* * *

**GAAAAAH I HATE THIS ENDING. Hopefully you guys don't. But I do. I honestly couldn't find another way to end this chapter.**


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

**Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I was busy being anti-social at a family party.**

**LianaDare8; It's weird how he's getting so confident haha.**

**Lena Sauran: That's good. I was worried about it.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Haha I'm glad you thought it was funny.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: I probably could've actually. But I was happy with how the chapter was.**

**MysticRyter: Exactly the point.**

**Itsgoose2u: Whew! I was worried haha. Never fight the feels haha! It never works.**

**dragonrain618: Haha welcome to Team Natasha then!**

**Rammerjammer14: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. Definitely makes me feel better.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Hahaha omg. I love Gwen too. She's becoming awesome. I HAD to include cliff jumping simply because of you. Gwen should be our BFF too.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Totally, I'll have to get it in there somewhere. I think I have an idea. I think he can get bossy sometimes haha. That is until Pepper steps in. I think Clint needs to like move into the East Coast Tower. He belongs there. Haha what's funny is I've been trying to think of a codename for Gwen and I've decided on Energizer from Energizer bunny. I'm terrible at fluff haha. I'm always worried it's too cheesy.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

On the morning of March Thirty-first, Gwen and Steve woke up early. They dressed, Gwen in a nice red cardigan and black jeans and Steve in his button down shirt and khakis. Gwen was dreading this Easter dinner while Steve was actually excited about it. According to him, Gwen should've been happy about being alive, but what he didn't understand was that she was going to be stuck in a kitchen with many other females who had a tendency to gossip like high schoolers while he sat around like slugs with the guys.

Hey drove to the Tower, Steve trying to cheer up Gwen by reminding her over and over again that she was alive. It did nothing.

JARVIS took them up after a greeting and they realized they were actually late. It seemed Steve had followed through with his promise. Gwen was very pleased about this new discovery.

"Gwendolyn, get your butt in here!" called Pepper the moment they stepped out of the elevator as though she could sense their presence. In the living area, Tony sat with Luke, Clint, Thor, Bruce and Hank. Steve kissed Gwen's forehead and gave her a look of sympathy as he made his way over to them, Tony waving his arms obnoxiously to get Gwen's attention and accidently, or perhaps purposefully, hit Thor in his Norse face.

After taking a deep breath, Gwen forced herself into the kitchen. Pepper was working on mashed potatoes, Darcy was filling up wine glasses, Jane was working on deviled eggs, Daisy was cleaning vegetables, Janet was over the stove, Betty was taking some sort of bag out of the microwave and Natasha was cutting a few loaves of bread, a bit violently Gwen noticed. Maybe giving Natasha a knife wasn't the best idea.

"Thank _God_ you're finally here," said Pepper, wiping her hands clean on a nearby towel. "There's a turkey getting ready, but I'll work on that, don't worry. You can get started on the dessert."

"She won't let me do it," muttered Darcy irritably.

"That's because you have a sweet tooth and you'll eat all the frosting," retorted Pepper.

"You can't really blame me."

Gwen saw that there were two choice for dessert; pie and cake. The pie was actually already done and Gwen immediately went to work on the cake. She was happy that it was simply a mixture from a box that one could easily buy from Walmart as she had made those successfully before. Gwen opened the box and took out the package. She used a nearby scissors to open the bag and poured the contents into a plastic bowl.

"So," said Pepper, "how's Steve doing?"

Gwen could almost hear everyone tune into this conversation and sighed.

"That's what you've all been waiting for, isn't it?" asked Gwen as she read the instructions on the back of the box.

"Well, Tony and I haven't gone through what you guys have."

"Yeah, and Thor and I don't see each other that much," added Jane. "Neither do Darcy and Fandral."

"Shut up!" hissed Darcy, earning a chuckle from Jane.

"And I'm going to end up forever alone with a bunch of cats," said Daisy proudly.

Gwen sighed. "Steve's fine."

"What's it like to be married to a super soldier?" asked Darcy curiously. "I mean, is he good in be-"

"Oh God, I'm not having this conversation," interrupted Gwen, her face flushing as her inner awkwardness came out. She could really use that energy and confidence she had before. It was still there, but Gwen was too busy trying to make her face cool down to realize it.

"You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"I think we all know," laughed Betty.

"It's innocent question!"

"Yeah," said Daisy with an eye roll, "as innocent as an NC-17 rated fanfiction story."

Natasha, who was sipping some water, nearly spit out her drink at this and everyone laughed, including the redheaded assassin. Gwen couldn't help but wonder why Natasha wasn't crabby on this day. Maybe Clint's presence was making her happy. Or at least Bobbi's departure. Gwen couldn't help but think everyone was relieved by her absence.

* * *

"You know what?" asked Tony, his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. "We should have a drinking competition."

"I'm in," replied Clint instantly.

"Is there a reward for this game of drinking?" asked Thor.

"There shouldn't be a game of drinking," muttered Bruce.

"Oh, come on," whined Tony. "What d'you think, Cap?"

"I think I'd win," said Steve. "So I'm not in."

"Same here," added Luke.

"I won't join," said Hank, "but I'd love to see a drunk Stark."

"You guys are no fun," whined Tony.

There was a pause for a moment.

"So Rogers," said Tony. "How's married life?"

Steve looked at Tony suspiciously. He wasn't sure where the genius was going with this.

"It's...good," he answered.

"You guys have fun together?"

Steve didn't notice how it was painting Tony to say this, so he instead furrowed his brow.

"I...guess?"

"And...everything else is...good?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"I just want to make sure you're..._taking care_ of Gwenie."

"Of course I am!"

"Taking care of..._everything_?"

"He's basically asking if you're fulfilling her intimate needs," said Hank bluntly as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Steve's face heated up immediately. This was not something he wanted to talk about.

"Thank you, my friend," said Tony, giving Hank a pat on the shoulder. "You are like some amazing awkward to normal translator."

"Why d'you wanna know this?" asked Steve with a furrowed brow, his face still red.

Tony sighed. "Pepper wants to know 'everything' as she put it and she knows Gwenie's not gonna tell so she wanted me to and I said no because it's like asking my son- or brother-in-law how he's doing with my daughter or sister in the bedroom-"

"I think we get it Stark."

"Anyway, she told me she'd have Gwenie lock me out of all my labs if I didn't do it."

"Well, you can tell you tried."

"Thank God. I honestly don't want to know_ any_ of that stuff."

* * *

Once the women were done, the guys were forced to help bring out the food, Thor having a bit too much fun with it, even though all he did was bring over a turkey and nearly broke the table when he basically threw it down with excitement.

Natasha sat next to Clint, looking very content that Bobbi was not around. Bruce and Betty were next to each other, their hands intertwined. Gwen had never seen the doctor so happy. Pepper and Tony were next to them, Tony already drinking his wine and pouring himself another glass. Then came Gwen and Steve, his arm resting on the back of her chair as they waited for everyone to get situated.

Once everyone was seated, some people like Gwen and Steve immediately folded their hands to say grace while others, like Tony and Thor, eyed the hot food hungrily. Steve cleared his throat loudly and got everyone's attention.

"Should we say grace?" he asked.

"But I'm _hungry_," whined Tony.

"I think grace is a good idea," said Pepper, jabbing Tony in the ribs with her elbow.

Everyone folded their hands together, Jane showing Thor what to do.

"Thank you, Lord, for the food we are about to receive and for giving us Jesus Christ-" Tony gave a fake snore in hopes that Steve would hurry up making Steve roll his eyes "-and for the many blessings throughout this year. Amen."

"Amen to that," commented Tony as he immediately scooped up some mashed potatoes with a spoon and set it on his plate.

The whole dinner was an interesting event. Whenever someone asked Tony to pass something, he generally threw it unless it would cause a mess. Thor found himself eating as he would on Asgard, which meant he basically stuffed everything in his mouth at once. Jane facepalmed when she saw how her godly boyfriend was behaving. Steve and Luke, both people who eat more than others, were both much more polite about it.

It was fun to watch Natasha and Clint eat as they were very careful with each thing they held. Gwen could've sworn they managed to butter their bread with one quick swipe of a knife. She supposed it was the perks of being assassins.

"So!" exclaimed Tony half-way though, "since there's so many of us together without the presence of Fury, let's discuss theories about the evil guys planning world domination."

Several people groaned at the idea of discussing world threats at this particular moment while some, like Clint and Natasha, seemed indifferent.

"Oh, come on," whined Tony. "Gwenie hasn't even heard one."

"That's true," Gwen agreed.

"Basically we think AIM's working with Amora, the sorceress who hid you from Heimdall's view, and the Green Goblin," stated Hank, getting right to the point as always. "We also think that AIM wishes to find and bring back Red Skull."

"That's Johann Schmidt, right?"

"Yeah," answered Steve grimly. "We can't let them get that bastard."

Tony gave an exaggerated gasp and threw his roll up in the air. "Steve Rogers swearing at Easter dinner? Someone call the nuthouse."

"So what are we supposed to do?" asked Gwen as Tony's roll fell on Bruce's head.

"I guess wait," answered Bruce, throwing the roll at Tony's face. "We'll be able to spend more time hunting down these people now that you're better."

"Have you found out who the Goblin is yet?" asked Jane.

"No," replied Hank. "We're hoping Gwendolyn could help us hack into some security footage from different buildings in New York to see if we could figure out where he came from."

Hank then looked at Gwen who nodded in agreement.

"What is it with evil people and the color green?" asked Tony. "Slytherins, Loki, the Goblin, broccoli-"

"Broccoli isn't a person," Darcy pointed out.

"Yes, but it's evil and I don't like it."

* * *

After dinner was finished, dessert was brought out for all to enjoy. Gwen though that Thor could've actually inhaled the pie if he had tried to. Many people couldn't finish their tasty treat as they had eaten too much for dinner, like Tony. He therefore began to complain until Pepper jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

Just as Gwen predicted, there was a massive amount of leftovers, some of which Tony claimed possession of immediately. Gwen was slightly reminded of the character Gollum as Tony clutched the extra pie to his chest in a plastic container.

Everyone helped clean, well almost everyone. Jane made Thor leave the kitchen once he got amused by the faucet in the sink and Tony and Darcy began arguing about what should be put on the television, leaving Pepper to come over and make a decision herself to shut them up.

"Ahem," called Tony, successfully getting everyone's attention as they came out of the kitchen. "I would like to make an announcement in the presence of so many people, many not as cool as me but that's beside the point." Tony then turned to Pepper who was in the process of rolling her eyes and took her hands in his. "Virginia Potts. I'm pretty sure that without you, I would've died, like, a crap load of years ago. And that's really as deep as I'm gonna get here because I'm not one to get all mushy. So-" he then got down on one knee, taking a small black box out of his pocket, several female gasps being heard all around "-Pepper, will you do me an honor by marrying me?"

Pepper smiled and laughed. "Only if you can tell me social security number."

"Just say yes and get it over with."

"Yes, Mr. Stark. I will marry you."

Applause erupted as Tony slid the gold diamond ring on Pepper's finger. He then stood up and kissed her. Gwen never thought she'd see something like this happen. It was insane. But then again, that was coming from the girl who married the World War II super-soldier.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

**Hello everyone.**

**LianaDare8: Christmas will definitely be interesting haha.**

**O. O TT. TT LOLz: I was hoping someone would say that!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Haha there's nothing better for me than awkward Gwen and Steve. Unfortunately Daisy can't hear you so she still thinks she'll be forever alone. Especially because her future husband is still a brainwashed assassin in Russia.**

**Itsgoose2u: It's too easy to torture them into embarrassment haha.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Yay! It's about time, isn't it?**

**ImmaEnforcer: I'm glad you think so! At least the roll falling on his head didn't bring out the other guy.**

**Lindsay: That must be pretty interesting haha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Haha that sounds like Tony. But I see Pepper as someone who puts her foot down at some things that are extreme. I'm really glad you liked the dinner! I was worried it wouldn't have the humor I wanted it to have. I can't wait to write New Years Eve haha.**

**AngelVamp6688: Haha evil broccoli is evil. I couldn't help myself with those awkward conversations haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

After arriving back on Asgard, Loki barely left Sigyn's side. He was terrified for her. Once they had gotten back, Loki had informed Odin and the others of Amora and the threat she posed. Everyone knew that she was powerful and it took someone equally as powerful or more to fight her spells.

Loki could remember how Amora had attempted to seduce him at a party for Thor's birthday. Loki had been in a bad mood as Thor had just become equipped with Mjolnir and everyone was celebrating his worthiness. Loki would've been happy for Thor, but he had just been having a bad day in general.

Then came Amora, someone who he had known from his youth. He had never been fond of her as they had always been competing to be better than the other. Loki could see right through her attempt to seduce him and was irritated, but he decided to turn it into his amusement. But after twisting her words around himself and messing with her mind, Loki accidentally made her reveal she was planning on killing Odin. So, naturally, Loki told the king and Amora was exiled to Earth along with Skruge who was in on the scheme.

So, naturally, Loki assumed Amora was after Asgard again and was probably planning revenge on the younger prince for ruining her evil plot to rule the realm. And the only thing Loki wanted in life at this moment was Sigyn. She had of course been informed of this threat and stood strong next to Loki, insisting she wasn't afraid of a "pathetic witch." Loki could tell she was scared and therefore took it upon himself to stay with her. He knew she could be in danger without him.

Things became hectic in Asgard as they strengthened defenses. Odin was worried over the fact Amora had suggested there was more than just her out there. For all they knew, she could have an army and could be plotting an attack on Asgard.

So when the Bifrost opened, everyone sat in silence as they waited to see who had arrived. They weren't going to assume it was Thor.

It was a surprise when Loki, Sif and the Warriors Three stood at the end of the bridge and they saw their visitor as it was Eros of Titan. The womanizing brother of Thanos was not someone they expected to be stopping by for a visit to Asgard, but Loki could tell that it was definitely Eros. He could sense an Eternal anywhere.

However, as Eros approached them, Loki could see the man was limping and was badly injured. Fandral and Volstsgg moved forward when they saw this too and helped Eros the rest of the way.

"What has happened to you?" asked Sif, most likely thinking about the many times she flipped him over.

"Titan was attacked," answered Eros, grimacing as he was put on Hogun's horse, the man looking grim as always.

"By whom?" inquired Loki.

"The Chitauri. They stormed the palace of my father. We fought them off, but I was sent here to ask for healers. Some of us are badly injured and need assistance. Normally we heal within minutes unless it is too much for us to handle."

"What were they doing there?" asked Fandral.

"It seemed they were looking for something. The Other was not there, most likely watching from afar. But there was a woman."

"What did she look like?" asked Loki immediately.

"Her hair was yellow and her eyes were blue. She was beautiful, but I could practically smell the evil on her."

Loki scowled and he could see the others realized Eros described Amora. So obviously she was working with the Other and the Chitauri were rebuilding. That was not good.

"Hogun, take Eros to the healing room," commanded Sif. "The rest of us will talk with the All-Father."

* * *

After informing Odin of what occurred, the king insisted he speak with Eros. They found themselves in the healing room and it seemed Sigyn had been summoned to help with Eros. Loki felt furious at whoever decided it was okay to let her be on her own as she traveled from Folkvang to the healing room, but attempted to let it go. It wasn't like she was dead.

"How did they even get there?" asked Fandral.

"We have the Tesseract," stated Sif. "Does Amora have something similar?"

"She's a powerful sorceress," said Loki. "She probably created one herself, but it would only be temporary. It is possible the Chitauri were not actually driven off but instead left after they did not find what they sought."

"What exactly happened though?" asked Volstagg.

"My father was mentoring me when we heard screams," answered Eros. "We went outside to find the Chitauri. This Amora you speak of had a force field around her that none of our warriors could penetrate. They stormed the palace while the Leviathans circled our city."

"Was it just your city?" asked Sif.

"We believe so. Many were injured by the Chitauri's weapons. I think Amora must have magicked them to be even more powerful or at least to cause more damage than intended."

"We will send some healers back with you, Eros," declared Odin.

"Father," said Loki, "may I have a word with you?"

Odin nodded and headed to the hall outside the healing room, Loki following. Once they were out of earshot from the others, Loki began.

"Please do not send Sigyn with him," he practically begged.

"Lady Sigyn is an extraordinary healer. I see no reason not to send her."

"If they attack Titan again-"

"Then you will go along as well."

Loki furrowed his brow. "E - excuse me?"

Odin put a hand on Loki's shoulder. "Son, I have noticed how Lady Sigyn has changed you. It has only been a short period of time, but just the fact that you care for her safety is enough proof for us to see the good side in you that had always been there. I will allow you to travel to Titan with Lady Sigyn and the rest of the healers so you can be with her."

"Thank you, father," replied Loki quickly and with a polite nod of his head.

"Take care of yourself, Loki. We do not want to lose you again."

* * *

After getting home from dinner at around six that night, both Gwen and Steve collapsed on the couch. Gwen reached for the remote, happy to have the concentration to watch television again. Steve propped his feet up on the coffee table as he let his right arm fall around Gwen's shoulders. She curled up next to him, letting out a content sigh as she pulled her legs up underneath her.

She turned on local news as there was nothing better on at this time. She knew most channel schedules by heart and wasn't going to bother checking what else was on.

In this moment, Gwen almost felt like her life was normal. Here she was with her husband of over one month, watching news on the couch. Most people looking at this picture wouldn't guess that Steve was Captain America and she was a SHIELD agent. In all honestly, she liked this. She couldn't wait until they could finally go on their honeymoon and feel normal. She was actually beginning to think a trip to Orlando would be much better than London. She needed to show Steve around the parks there one day.

Gwen felt Steve's head gently fall in top of hers. He wasn't asleep, but it simply to be even closer to her than he already was. Gwen's heart raced at the contact. She still couldn't get over the idea of her and Steve being so close and still got butterflies when they kissed. Perhaps they'd end up as one of those old couples that held hands as they walked down the street, reminiscing the times they had with each other.

Her heart raced as she twisted around and planted her lips on his. Steve seemed slightly surprised by her behavior, but happily accepted it. His arms wrapped around her waist as he pulled her close.

"How would you feel about going to Disney World?" asked Gwen suddenly.

"For what?"

"Our honeymoon."

"I'll go wherever you wanna go."

Gwen smiled. "We'll have to go to Universal Studios, too. We could go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I've wanted to go there for years now. Daisy went there opening day and she said it was amazing. You'd love it."

Steve simply smiled and nodded.

"You're okay with this, right?" asked Gwen.

He pulled her close to him and kissed her. "Whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

Gwen smiled. "You don't have to worry about planning or anything, I can do that myself. Have you ever been on a regular modern plane?"

"Only the Quinjets."

"Then this will be interesting."

* * *

After his stunt in New York City Norman had come to realize any mistakes he made and quickly learned how to fix them. For one thing, if he was ever separated from his glider, he had to make sure there was a way to get it back. So, of course, he added in a button that would summon it.

But as he re-watched footage of that night, he couldn't help but notice this Spider-Man trying to help the now late George Stacy. Norman of course wanted to fight Spider-Man. This kid was young and idiotic from what he had heard. But Norman needed a way to lure him. And so he realized that perhaps Spider-Man had a connection to the Stacy's.

Norman turned to look at an open file on his desk. It was that of Gwen Stacy, an intern for Doctor Connors. Head intern apparently. She was young, too. Maybe she meant something to Spider-Man. Or maybe Spider-Man would want to save her from death out of the good of his heart. Either way, he was going to get Gwen Stacy and he was going to use her.

His ringing phone took his thoughts away from his schemes and he pressed the speaker button.

"Yes?" asked Norman.

"Osborn," said MODOK, "tomorrow is the night. We'll be relocating to the island and we'll need a distraction."

Norman's lips turned into a smile. "Distraction, you say?"

"Yes. If you could keep the Avengers away from Malibu while we take off, I'll let you have access to everything AIM has to offer."

"That honestly seems like an offer I can't refuse, Mr. MODOK."

"Good. Begin at eight your time. Don't let them leave New York."

There was a click as MODOK hung up on the other line. Norman still had his smile upon his face. What were the chances that this should occur? He honestly didn't care about MODOK's offer. Norman already had everything he needed. If some of the Avengers escaped, he didn't care. Too bad for AIM. All he wanted was Spider-Man. There was just something about him that Norman couldn't explain. But perhaps he would be able to once he had taken off his mask.


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**I have to say, I'm sorry about not posting everyday anymore guys. Now that August has started things start getting busier for me. It'll be even worse once school starts again. So very sorry.**

**LianaDare8: I will not say a word...though you may or may not be right.**

**MysticRyter: Perhaps ehehe.**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! I know, I'm overwhelming myself haha.**

**Arrows the Wolf: Uh oh, Osborn better be careful. You could, like, pull off his ears or something. That outta hurt.**

**Lena Sauran: HAHA very true! I have to admit, that made me laugh out loud.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I honestly think Loki would through a huge hissy fit if he and Sigyn were separated for too long haha. A worthy man indeed haha. I think Steve would be amazed by the different parks and the technology and everything. Especially the Forbidden Journey ride. Good God that's amazing. Norman's just a big old creep, isn't he? He freaks me out haha. I hate him too. **

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Haha will do. I LOVE CONNECTIONS TOO. It's like we're secretly planning all these connections together haha. GUESS WHAT. JACOB WAS THERE ON OPENING DAY TOO. How weird would it be if you guys actually saw each other or something? Apparently he threw up after the ride haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

In the events of Gwen getting healed and attending Easter dinner, she had completely forgotten about a certain day until it arrived.

April first.

April Fools Day was not one of Gwen's favorite days. Sure, she enjoyed pranks as much as the next person, but when you have a boss like Tony Stark, you realize that it might actually be possible to be scared to death from his pranks.

Gwen's least favorite prank of Tony's was the time he sent her a video in which the setting was peaceful and out of nowhere a face popped up and screamed. Needless to say she screamed as well and Tony had run into her office to laugh at her. She had always wanted to get back at him for that one. Unfortunately, Gwen wasn't good at pranks. She could never keep a straight face.

But, seeing as she was going into Avengers Tower on April Fools Day where Tony was most likely waiting in a seemingly harmless flower pot, covered in soil and prepared to strike, Gwen was terrified. She was also embarrassed to admit this all, so she didn't even bother telling Steve. But of course, he still caught on to her paranoia.

"What's wrong?" he asked as they got in the elevator, his hand holding hers, Gwen's grip tighter than normal.

"Nothing," answered Gwen, shaking her head. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she selected the office floor and Steve selected the gym floor.

"You look terrified."

"Do I?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I'm fine. Totally fine."

Steve's floor was the first stop and Gwen jumped as the elevator doors opened. She could feel Steve's eyes on her as he left the elevator after giving her a swift kiss. She tried giving him a reassuring smile, but he didn't seem to buy it. However, he continued on.

Gwen felt even more frightened now that she was all alone. Big, muscular Steve wasn't next to her anymore which made her feel even more vulnerable to a possible prank attack.

She was cautious as the elevator doors opened again. She slipped out silently and nearly ran into her office, shutting the door behind her once inside. She listened for a second before continuing farther inside. There could be a trap anywhere. She slowly approached her desk and saw nothing out of place. What if Tony's big prank on her was simply causing her complete paranoia? It would honestly be the perfect trick.

"JARVIS, is there anything I need to be careful about?" asked Gwen.

"Nothing I am aware of, Agent Rogers," answered the AI. "Would you like me to start up the computers for you?"

"Yes, please."

Gwen watched the screens and facepalmed when an familiar image loaded up on each one.

"For the love of God," she muttered under her breath as three faces of Nicholas Cage stared at her.

Was this Tony's prank? Putting pictures of Nicholas Cage on her computers? He was losing his touch. That or he had something else planned to go along with this. Gwen was pretty sure it was the latter.

"Mr. Stark would like for you to find security footage that could help find Green Goblin," informed JARVIS as Gwen changed the screens so that it no longer showed Nicholas Cage.

"Will do," she answered.

"He also wants to know why you're here."

"If he didn't know I was coming in, why'd he change the screens?"

"He had me do so once I informed him of your arrival."

"Ah, he's got you in on this all too. What's he got planned."

"Mr. Stark has asked me not to tell you."

"Not even a hint."

"No."

Gwen groaned. "Fine. I'll just work on the security footage."

"You still didn't answer his question."

"I'm here because I feel fine and didn't want to sit at home anymore. I did that for a month. It's actually pretty tiring."

It didn't take long for Gwen to think of where to look first. If AIM, Goblin and Amora were all working together, and AIM was also somehow involved with Oscorp, then what better place to start than Oscorp Tower itself?

Gwen became lost in her codes and hacking that she was oblivious to everything else around her. She always got this way when she worked at Stark Industries and one of Tony's favorite things to do was barge into her office to disrupt her and make her jump.

Needless to say Gwen couldn't help but think he'd do the same thing again.

Gwen continued her work with ease. It seemed that perhaps Tony didn't have the time to prepare a proper prank this year, which she didn't mind. Maybe he even realized that they needed her to get this secruity footage and pulling pranks on her all day would do absolutely no good.

She managed to get a hold of the footage from Oscorp Tower and many other buildings that had captured Green Goblin as he flew around the city. He seemed horrifying and she was glad this was all she had to do. Gwen wasn't sure how much longer she could look at this guy's mask. So as quickly as she could, she put all the videos she edited to just show the Goblin into an email and sent it to Tony.

* * *

"Hey, Tony," said Bruce as they stood in Tony's main lab, trying desperately to track down Green Goblin by watching security videos of Oscorp that Gwen provided them with, "I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"D'you know where I can find General Thaddeus Ross?"

"He's related to Betty, right?"

"Yeah. He's her father. He doesn't exactly like me, but I was hoping I could find him and bring him to Betty. Maybe it'd spark something in her memory."

"I can have JARVIS run a search for him. I remember having to talk to him once."

"Good. Just...don't let him know that I'm asking you to do this."

Tony furrowed his brow and looked over at Bruce. "Why?"

"Like I said, he doesn't like me."

"What's not to like?"

Bruce gave him a knowing look.

"With exception of the other guy of course. But seriously. You're as gentle as a...as a bear cub."

"That is the worst comparison I've ever heard."

"Here's a worse one then; your eyes are as dark as the sun."

Bruce sighed and rolled his eyes instead of answering.

"So, does Betty have any of her memories back?" asked Tony.

"Not many, but we're working on it. She doesn't remember the other guy at all, which I consider a good thing."

"What, are you afraid she'd run away?"

Bruce didn't answer and Tony went to stand in front of him.

"Did Betty every run away before?"

"That's not the point-"

"Answer me, did she ever run away before?"

Bruce sighed. "No. She didn't."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"But you're scared of the idea of her remembering the Hulk. Why? D'you think she'd act strange around you? D'you think she wouldn't love you?"

Bruce took a deep breath, Tony not realizing how much he was irritating him. "I left her because I was worried I'd hurt her. Now I'm too caught up with the idea of being with her again and that worry is coming back. If she remembers, she'll never let me leave again."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "And if she doesn't remember, she still won't let you leave again."

"You don't understand-"

"No, Bruce, _you_ don't understand. No one here will let you leave. You think you're a danger to everyone here when you're not. You are convinced that you will one day Hulk out and kill everyone but you won't. I _know _you won't."

"You don't know that."

"I _do_. And I can't grasp why you're so worried about this. We can help you, Bruce. You just deny us the chance because you're just so damn stubborn about it."

Bruce was at a loss of words.

"Sir," said JARVIS, breaking the silence that had followed Tony's words, "the facial recognition scan is complete."

Both geniuses turned to look a huge monitor as JARVIS pulled up a video feed.

"Dammit," said Tony, "it's him."

"It's who?" asked Bruce.

"It's Osborn! Green Goblin is Norman Osborn himself!"

"What?"

"Look right there." Tony pointed at the enlarged screen where the Goblin stood without a mask on. Tony knew that face anywhere, even without JARVIS spelling out his name on the screen in big letters.

"Well I'll be darned," muttered Bruce.

"We have to let someone know. Actually, I could just fly over there myself-"

"No," interrupted Bruce. "We'll tell Fury and he'll send in someone who won't blow it up."

"Fine. But if something goes wrong I'm blaming you."

* * *

After being alerted, Fury immediately sent Phil and several other agents to arrest Norman Osborn.

Phil and his small army of men in black suits and sunglasses entered the main lobby to Oscorp. With no expression on their faces, they walked up to the main desk. Several people were standing to watch them, other pointing. They looked almost like the Men in Black. It wouldn't be a surprise if some workers were considering the idea that an alien was found in the Tower.

"We're here to see Mr. Osborn," said Phil in his calm but stern voice as the woman behind the desk looked up from her computer.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked, craning her neck to look at the other agents.

"No appointment is necessary." Phil held up his badge that showed the SHIELD logo. "We're from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"Wow, that's a mouthful."

"Yeah, we know." Phil put his badge back in his jacket. "We need to speak with Mr. Osborn right now."

"Can I ask why?"

"It's classified information."

The woman looked very unsure of how to handle this situation.

"Well, uh, he's in his office right now. I could call up - hey!"

Without her finishing, Phil and the other agents left the desk and started heading towards the elevator. The woman huffed as she picked the phone.

"Someone get security down here," she said angrily.

It was an odd sight for the other workers in the elevator as the elevator music was the only sound made as Phil and the agents stood in a power stance as they waited to reach the floor which held Norman's office. Most people were frightened and left as quick as they could to continue their journey on the staircase. It was actually quite a comical sight.

Phil exited the elevator once it opened on the right floor and walked down the hall, the other agents right behind him. He walked up to the door with a plaque on it that read: "Norman Osborn." Phil knocked on said door.

"Mr. Osborn, this is Agent Phil Coulson from SHIELD. I'd like to have a few words with you."

There was no answer. Phil tried unlocking the door which seemed to need a special code, but it didn't work. Without having to communicate, one of the other agents placed a small explosive on the door and it blew open. Phil and the agents drew their weapons just in case.

Phil carefully stepped over the now destroyed door and slowly walked inside. The office was dark and empty.

"No life signs detected," reported an agent, looking down at a device on his wrist that resembled a watch.

Something seemed off though other than the fact that the secretary at the main desk had said Norman was in his office. Phil could just feel it.

Then he saw it. Sitting on Norman's desk was a pumpkin that was activated and ready to explode.

"MOVE!" shouted Phil as he and the agents tried to reach the exit before the bomb went off.

And then it exploded.

* * *

From in the air outside the Tower, Norman hovered on his glider watching the explosion. He then turned around towards the rest of New York City. Behind his mask, a sickening smile was placed upon his face.

It was time.


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

**So I didn't have a lot of time to write, but I wanted to get this chapter out. So that's why it's shorter. And because it's more of a filler. I promise the next couple chapters will be longer. They also happen to be the last couple chapters of this installment.**

**LianaDare8: Don't worry, Phil won't die again!**

**Arrows the Wolf: That would honestly be one epic battle haha.**

**Lena Sauran: Don't worry, he won't die!**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: That would be so great if you guys actually walked into each other omg. I couldn't help myself with the Nicholas Cage stuff. I wish I would've had Clint find the training room turned into a nest or something.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I hate those videos too. I'm pretty immune to them now, but I was like nine the first time I watched one and I actually started crying 'cause it scared me so bad haha. I feel so bad for Bruce. I hate how stubborn he is with the Hulk and how he's convinced he'll hurt someone. Haha, I promise you there will be Phil/Stephen bromance moments in the next installment. Don't worry, he won't die. I couldn't do that to him. But I'm not saying that no one will die in this installment...**

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! I honestly picture Gwen walking around like a ninja trying to avoid being pranked hah.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

It was after dinner that Gwen saw Steve wander into her office. She was still too focused on finding footage that showed the Goblin to truly acknowledge him. Nevertheless, she wasn't so incredibly focused on her work at this moment that she could ignore him when he sat down in an extra chair and started spinning in it as though he were extremely bored.

"Does mommy need to get you a coloring book?" asked Gwen mockingly, her eyes not leaving he monitors.

"Ha ha," answered Steve sarcastically. "No, I don't need a coloring book."

"Why don't you watch a movie or something?"

Steve sighed. "How long are we staying here?"

"Until I can't find anymore footage or JARVIS is able to identify who Green Goblin is."

"How long with that take?"

"I don't know, Steve. You sound like a ten year old, y'know."

Steve pulled his chair up to sit right next to Gwen and leaned over to kiss her.

"Do ten year olds do that?"

"Well, in today's world probably. It's pretty depressing, really."

Gwen leaned forward and kissed Steve this time. He reached up and pushed some of her hair behind her ear, deepening the kiss.

"You do realize Tony'll probably see this," muttered Gwen.

"He should be happy we're just kissing."

Gwen laughed as she linked her arms around Steve's neck, ignoring how awkward they were now sitting in their chairs

"Facial recognition is complete," interrupted JARVIS.

"Who is it?" asked Gwen, letting go of Steve and leaning back into her chair.

"Mr. Norman Osborn."

Gwen's jaw dropped. Osborn himself? It didn't surprise her that Green Goblin was associated with Oscorp like she had suspected, but for it to be Osborn?

"Wait," said Steve with a furrowed brow, "who's Norman Osborn?"

"He's the industrialist who founded Oscorp," answered Gwen. "You might've seen the company's Tower at some point. I'd be surprised if you hadn't."

"So the guy's nuts?"

"I dunno. I've never dealt with him before. JARVIS, has Fury been alerted of this?"

"Yes," answered the AI. "Director Fury is also calling a meeting due to a phone call from Colonel Rhodes."

"What? Why's Rhodey calling?"

"I suggest you head to the meeting to find out."

"Since when do AI's have an attitude?"

"Mr. Stark encourages it."

"I'll have to talk to him about that."

Gwen and Steve then immediately got up and headed for the elevator. They were quiet from their anxiousness to find out what Rhodey had called about.

The elevator dinged as it opened on the correct floor and the couple stepped out. They hurried to the conference room where just about everyone was already. Thor was standing with his arms crossed over his chest while Luke, Daisy, Hank, Bruce, Tony, Clint and Natasha were sitting. Fury stood at the front looking almost naked without Phil by his side.

"Alright," said Fury as Gwen and Steve entered and took their seats, "Agent Coulson and a small group of agents have been sent to Oscorp Tower to arrest Norman Osborn for being the so called Green Goblin."

"But you said Rhodey called," stated Tony irritably.

Fury rolled his eye. "Yes, he did. Apparently they're picking up possible AIM movement."

Everyone became very attentive at this, wanting nothing but to stop this organization.

"If this is true," continued Fury, "now is the time to strike."

"Where are they?" asked Natasha.

"Malibu. Apparently they've started sending out planes to an unknown location. They're most likely moving their equipment to a more permanent base."

"So what do we do?" asked Luke.

"I'm sending a team of you out there. Seeing as we haven't heard back from Agent Coulson yet, I'm not sending everyone just in case he needs backup. Cage, Rogers, Powers, Johnson, Thor, suit up. You'll be meeting up with the West Coast team outside the supposed base."

"Why can't I go?" whined Tony. "It's Malibu."

"Because we need you here, Stark. Now shut up and deal with it."

Everyone who was named nodded and got up quickly, ignoring Tony's complaining. Gwen wasn't too pleased with the idea of seeing Bobbi as she was told the assassin had suggested they let Gwen die, but she wasn't going to say anything.

Gwen went with Daisy into the women's locker room and they quickly changed into their uniforms without any exchange of words. Gwen could feel the energy from her suit and felt incredibly energized. The two then left the room and headed for the helipad. A Quinjet was waiting for them. Luke and Thor were already inside. Steve climbed on board shortly after.

"Everyone ready?" asked the pilot.

Everyone nodded as they took their seats. Well, only Gwen and Daisy sat down. Steve, Luke and Thor opted to stand.

And so the Quinjet took off, leaving New York behind.

* * *

Phil coughed as he slowly lifted his head. The smoke from the explosion was clearing and there was a slight ringing in his ears. He could see the other agents on the ground. He hoped they weren't dead. It was hard for him to tell how much pain they could be in seeing as any injuries Phil had were healed by now or would be healed within the next couple of seconds.

After looking around for a moment, Phil pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and then up on his feet. Four of the five agents that went with him were slowly stirring while one wasn't moving at all.

Phil stumbled over to him and pressed two fingers on his neck. There was a strong steady pulse and he let out a sigh of relief. The agent was simply unconscious. He then helped all of the other agents up and truly took in his surroundings.

Nearly the entire office was destroyed. The walls were still standing, but all file cabinets, the desk and the windows were demolished. The floor and ceiling was black where the bomb exploded. Phil could see out the now "open" windows and saw the figure of a man standing on something that floated in the air. After a moment, it flew off. Phil knew exactly who this was.

"Take him back to the Tower," Phil ordered the other agents, pointing to the unconscious one. They nodded and went to go get the agent.

Phil took out his phone and dialed a number. He then put it up to his ear and waited.

"What's the situation, Agent," answered Fury.

"Osborn got away."

"WHAT?"

Phil didn't even flinch at Fury's shout. "He left us a bomb. One agent is unconscious and they're heading back to the Tower now. I believe Osborn took off on his glider. It's unknown where he's going."

He could hear Fury sigh. "I'll send some people out to look for him. Look around his office, see if you can find anything useful."

"That won't be necessary, sir."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"The bomb destroyed his office. There's nothing left."

Phil could almost hear Fury's frustration. "Okay. Get back to the Tower. Right now we're five people short."

"Yes, sir."

Phil ended the call and turned around. He then got back in the elevator. Once he stepped out into the main entrance, he saw that people were going about their business like nothing happened. Phil just hoped that they could stop Osborn before he attacked the city again.

* * *

The Quinjet landed in a secluded area that Gwen never knew even existed, even after years of living in Malibu. Everyone got out quickly and she realized they were practically next to the AIM base seeing as there was some sort of bunker entrance sitting next to them. It reminded Gwen of the scene in the last Star Wars movie during the Battle on Endor.

"Glad you could make it."

Gwen's eyes left the bunker and she turned to see Rhodey dressed in his suit. His faceplate was up and he offered a smile.

Next to him was Bobbi, dressed in her SHIELD uniform, whose expression was impossible to read.

"This is the base then?" asked Steve, motioning towards the bunker.

"Yeah," answered Rhodey. "We sent some information to Selvig who said there's definitely people down there."

"Down?" asked Daisy excitedly as though going into the earth was the best thing in the world.

"The base is underground," replied Bobbi in a monotone, clearly uncomfortable to be there, especially with Steve staring at her with a judging expression. "It's pretty big as well. It could take days to go through the whole facility. We believe the agents inside are somehow enhanced. They have superhuman strength from what we saw from some security footage that we managed to get a hold of."

An idea popped into Gwen's head as she looked around. If these agents were enhanced, they were going to need weapons. Or at least something more. And she knew just the place to go.

"You guys go ahead," said Gwen, taking out her phone, "I've gotta make a pit stop."

"What?" asked Steve, raising his eyebrows. "Gwen, are you out of your mind?"

"I might be."

Steve shook his head. "If you're going anywhere, I'm going with you."

"No, I think it'd be easier if I went on my own."

"Then how're you going to get where you're going?"

Gwen held up her phone and shrugged as she found the familiar contact.

"I've got a ride."

* * *

**Kudos to everyone who can tell me who Gwen's ride is. Or if you can tell me where she's going.**


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

**I now give you the return of Peter. You're welcome.**

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Or are you turning into RDJ? Hashtag life's unanswerable questions.**

**Itsgoose2u: I swear, Gwen has a mind of her own haha. And thanks!**

**TeamUSA2012: Thank you! :D**

**LianaDare8: Oh man, that'd be so great haha. I should do that.**

**Arrows the Wolf: You're right about the ride part haha.**

**morbidly-funny: Probably not, but they should. Then Fury could call up Odin and they could be patch bros.**

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Ding ding ding! You are the only one to guess correctly haha.**

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: Woo! I stumped you! At least Peter's back though. I bet Tony would like freak out if he saw security footage of them kissing haha. And no, Phil certainly can't die. Badasses are invincible haha.**

**Phantom-Demon: Aww, thank you! That makes me feel really good haha. I'm glad you like them.**

**The Red Dove: Hahaha thanks! Don't worry, I use the caps lock a lot when I write reviews haha.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Norman floated over New York City, his satchel bag over his shoulder. Before those agents had come he had sent a message to Gwen Stacy, posing as Doctor Connors in order to get her where Norman wanted her. At that moment she should be traveling to Oscorp. But until then, Norman needed to create a distraction for the other Avengers.

He thought of attacking the Avengers Tower, but it would probably be better if he had them take the time to get to another location. At least then he could head back to Oscorp and grab the Stacy girl. Then it was off the the Brooklyn Bridge.

But that would come in time. Instead Norman zipped through the air on his newly improved glider and made his way to the Empire State building. It was an ideal place to start chaos as news of it would spread to the Avengers fast. And that would, of course, include that Spider-Man.

Once outside the building, Norman reached into his satchel and took out one of his explosives. He activated the pumpkin and threw it so it went inside the building through the window. The glass shattered as the bomb went through it. Norman then went to another part of the building and threw another pumpkin just as the first one exploded. He repeated this several times until he knew he had everyone's attention.

Sirens were wailing and Norman figured at least one person had dialed 911 already. News reporters were probably being notified at this very moment. It was only a matter of time before the Avengers assembled to take him down.

And so Norman smiled.

* * *

Peter walked down the steps of his home, his stomach demanding something to eat. He was generally pretty good at sneaking into the kitchen and eating food without Aunt May noticing. However, it was pretty obvious that it was Peter that was stealing the food from the fridge.

This time, though, Peter saw Aunt May watching the small television nearby. She didn't notice him enter the room as her full attention was on the news report. Peter could see the screen clearly and noticed that someone had attacked the Empire State building with explosives.

Peter silently ran back up into his room. He grabbed his backpack and checked his phone which had a text from Tony that read: _Fury wants you for a meeting._

After slinging the backpack over his shoulder, Peter took his skateboard and snuck out of the house with ease. He quickly road the board to a dark alley where he took off his clothes, revealing his suit underneath. He pulled his mask over his face and stuffed his clothes and skateboard into his backpack the best he could. He slung it over his shoulder again before climbing up the wall of the building next to him. With ease he made it to the top and then shot out a web that hit the top of a nearby building. He went swinging and began his journey to Avengers Tower.

* * *

"Y'know Fury," said Tony as he entered the conference room with Bruce and Hank, "I'm beginning to think you're calling all of these meetings because you want to see our pretty faces."

"This isn't a time for jokes, Stark," answered Fury who stood at the head of the round table, Phil now beside him.

"What's going on?" asked Natasha who was standing off to the side next to Clint.

"Osborn escaped and now he's attacking the Empire State building. We need to act now, especially because we're five people short. Romanoff, Barton, you take a Quinjet and fly Banner and Pym to the building. See if you can help anyone. Barton, try to shot him if you can. Stark, you use your computers to try and hack into Oscorp and find any plans Osborn could've made."

"Unfortunately, I can't do that from here," stated Tony a bit embarrassingly. "I'd have to go to the Tower."

"Then do it. Now go."

Natasha and Clint were the first to move followed by Bruce and Hank. They made their way to the helipad while Tony went to the room where he kept some of his suits. But before he could get there, he found Peter running down the hall.

"I'm here!" he explained slightly out of breath from sprinting down the hall.

"You're late," replied Tony.

"Sorry about that."

"No problem. Just go attack Osborn or something."

Peter looked up at him. "Osborn?"

"That's right, you don't know yet. Green Goblin is Norman Osborn. He's-"

"Attacking the Empire State Building, I saw."

"I'm going to suit up and get to Oscorp to see if I JARVIS can find any useful information. You try to find him. Got your earpiece?"

"Yeah, yeah I do."

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

After getting in his suit, Tony took off into the New York City sky. Manhattan shines below him as he took off for Oscorp Tower.

"It seems there is an empty office right there, sir," informed JARVIS, putting a marker on the suit's Heads Up Display as Tony approached the Tower.

Tony then crashed through the office's window and landed on his feet. He approached the computer and flipped open a small panel on his arm that Gwen had installed when they made the Mark II so if was easy to move JARVIS around. He then took out the USB cable and pulled it into the computer that sat on a desk in the middle of the room.

"Get into the mainframe," ordered Tony. "Find all activity from Norman Osborn in the past twenty-four hours."

And Tony watched as JARVIS went to work.

* * *

Peter stood at the top of the Empire State Building, looking around. There was smoke gravitating out of the broken windows of the building. The Quinjet had landed at the bottom and they had all went inside. However, Peter couldn't see Osborn at all. Did he just want to attack this building and take off?

"Hey guys," said Tony's voice, "it looks like Osborn sent an email posing as that Connors guy to a Gwen Stacy."

"What did he say?" asked Peter immediately, putting a hand at his ear.

"He asked for her to come in. It looks like this happened only fifteen minutes ago. It's all I can find. I'm leaving the Tower to find him."

Peter stood there in shock for a moment. Was Osborn after Gwen Stacy? That made no sense. But Peter wasn't going to risk anything. He leapt off the building and shot a web at another so that he could safely swing to the ground. People were crowding the streets and sidewalks as the Empire State Building evacuated. Once away from the noise, Peter took out his phone.

"Hello?" answered Gwen.

"Gwen, it's Peter. Where are you?"

"I'm at Oscorp. Doctor Connors-"

"That wasn't Doctor Connors! That was Osborn!"

"Wait, what?"

"Osborn's Green Goblin! He's attacking the city and I think he's coming for you!"

"That's ridiculous. Why would he?"

"I think he knows who I am or at least he knows that we're dating or something, I dunno. He's planning on attacking his own Tower."

There was a pause. "I'm gonna get everyone out."

"What? Gwen! Gwen!"

The line went dead as she hung up.

"Oh you mother_hugger_ come on!"

* * *

In Malibu, Gwen watched as a black sedan pulled up on the road she had found after leaving the others and smiled. The driver's door opened to reveal none other than Happy Hogan dressed in a black suit who certainly didn't look happy at all.

"Happy!" she exclaimed.

"What in the world is going on?" he asked looking very annoyed. "You call late at night for me to come and drive you somewhere. I can't chauffeur you everywhere! I'm not even a chauffeur!"

"Happy, calm down."

"How can I calm down? The last time you made me drive somewhere was with that Natalie woman and-"

"Happy! I just need a ride to Tony's house."

He heaved a great sigh. "Get in."

"Thank you, Happy! Thank you so much!"

Gwen nearly ran to the other side of the car and got inside. Happy got back in the driver's seat.

"I'll be eternally grateful for this," said Gwen as she buckled in.

"You better be," answered Happy, starting up the car. "I was supposed to be protecting Scarlett Johansson tonight."

"I'm sor - wait, since when d'you work for other people?"

Happy started driving the car in the direction of Tony's house. "I'm Iron Man's bodyguard, that doesn't go over very well for your information."

"Look, Happy, I'm sorry. I just didn't have another way to Tony's house and we have a situation going on."

He sighed. "Fine. But what's this situation."

"Basically a bunch of people wanna take over the world and we're trying to stop them."

"Can you be anymore vague?"

"I suppose I could be. To be honest it's pretty classified."

"Right. Because the world would end if you told me."

Gwen sighed. "An agency called AIM is relocating at this very moment and us at SHIELD are trying to stop them for good."

"Ah. And why do you need to go to Tony's house?"

"I'm hoping I can find something there that could be of use."

"Why not go to the factory?"

"In case you forgot, Stark Industries doesn't make weapons anymore. If there's anything that's of use it'll be at Tony's house."

The ride there was fairly quick as Happy drove very fast to get them there quickly. Happy pulled the sedan up through the long driveway and stopped in front of the front doors to the house.

Gwen turned to Happy. "Get yourself somewhere safe. I don't know what'll happen, but it'll better if you're somewhere safe."

"What about you?" asked Happy.

"I'll be fine. I'll call you when I need a ride back or something."

Before Happy could say anything else, Gwen got out of the car and practically ran to the door.

Gwen entered the house, JARVIS letting her in.

"Hey, JARVIS?" she asked the AI.

"Good evening, Agent Powers," JARVIS answered. "May I ask what you are doing here?"

"Not much time, JARVIS. Does Tony have any weapons laying around still?"

"Might I suggest checking the basement?"

Gwen paused for a moment. She knew there weren't any weapons down there. Unless...

"JARVIS," she said with a mischievous smirk, "I think you're onto something."

Gwen quickly made her way to the steps that lead down to the basement. She couldn't even count how many times she had gone down these stairs. At the end of the staircase, she punched in the code on the touch screen which was built into the door. It unlocked and she stepped inside, surprised her code hadn't changed. Perhaps Tony hadn't even thought about it.

JARVIS made everything come to life as she moved inside. The lights came on and equipment started moving around like they were stretching from a long hibernation.

"Hey Dummy, hey Butterfingers," Gwen greeted her least favorite machines in the world. "Long time, no see."

Dummy raised up its fire extinguisher at Gwen who raised her arms over her face in response.

"Hey, hey, hey! Not on fire!"

Dummy made a sad beeping noise before lowering the extinguisher.

"Agent Rogers," said JARVIS, "might I suggest this as a weapon?"

Gwen turned around to see what JARVIS was talking about and smiled. It was risky and stupid, but it was an idea. A horrible one, yet it was something.

Gwen smiled. "Let's suit up."

* * *

**GWEN. GWEN NO. WHAT ARE YOU DOING. GOOD GOD.**


	30. Chapter Thirty

**Guys guys guys guys I saw a post on tumblr that said Avengers 3 will follow the Civl War storyline. I don't think my heart could handle that. This also means they're going to bring in more characters. I know they want to do a Daredevil and Fantastic Four reboots, so this should be interesting.**

**KookyNorthWestern: Haha thanks. I'm glad you like it. **

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: And I've been waiting to write this for so long hahaha. And yea, they are :D**

**MusicManiacGirl: You'll have to read and find out!**

**LianaDare8: Perhaps hehe. And no, not yet. I have an idea, but it sucks so I'd love to hear yours. **

**The Red Dove: Haha yeah she is. I just couldn't help myself haha. **

**Silvertail of shoreclan: Perhaps muahahahaha. **

**Phantom-Demon: I love them too haha but Gwen doesn't. She's just weird. Ihope the suspense doesn't actually kill you! Haha. **

**Arrows the Wolf: Haha don't worry, she won't do anything TOO stupid. **

**MysticRyter: That's quite alright, my friend. I'm glad you've returned. **

**Itsgoose2u: Gwen's getting really sassy haha. And I fear for Gwen Stacy as well...**

**TeamUSA2012: Thank you :D**

**morbidly-funny: I could just see Fury and Odin getting together and talking and Tony just having a ball with the fact they have patche****s. **

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I have admit that perhaps in the future (cough last installment cough) that something Galactus bad might happen. *whistles innocently* But I'm glad you're happy about Peter's return! He's in this chapter as well. **

**snowyclara: Welcome back, my friend! I'm glad you've caught up. It must be pretty intense having a marathon like that. I also formally apologize for makin you explode. I hope the mess wasn't too bad. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty**

Steve had ordered everyone inside the facility except for Rhodey who was circling the skies. The soldier, however, stood waiting for Gwen. The longer she was gone the faster his heart raced. What if something happened to her? What if she was hurt? He knew he shouldn't of let her go. Now it was his fault that something happened to her.

A sound behind Steve made him jump and spin on his heel. There stood a man dressed in a yellow suit like all of the regular AIM agents. However, this one didn't have a weird hat and was far more muscular. In fact, they were as muscular as Steve. He knew this agent was approaching him to attack, so Steve contemplated what to do.

However, something came flying out of the sky and landed in front of Steve. It was an Iron Man suit, but it certainly wasn't Rhodey. It didn't look like Tony's current suit either. It was red and silver.

This Iron Man raised a hand and shot out a beam of light, effectively knocking back the agent and clearing the area. The Iron Man turned its head and looked at Steve over its shoulder.

"Hey, honey."

Steve's eyes widened. "Gwen? Gwen? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm playing chess with a donkey, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Get out of that suit."

"Nope. I actually kind of like this."

"Don't make me get you out of it."

Gwen now turned herself completely around. Steve could hear her laugh.

"What d'you think you're gonna do?"

"Get out of the suit."

"Make me."

And then Gwen, with her newfound sass, put her hands out and flew up into the sky.

* * *

There was no denying that Gwen was thoroughly enjoying flying in the suit. She had never thought it'd be so fun.

"Hey JARVIS," she said, "remember when I told Tony I'd never ask him to make me a suit?"

"Yes, I do," answered the AI.

"I think I'm gonna take that back. You're gonna have to help me out a bit here though. Cut the thrusters."

She stopped in the air and then began falling. She managed to turn them off and on again like she had seen Tony do many times. It wasn't long before she could see the bunker that led into the AIM base. The steel sliding door was open. Gwen walked forward, the boots of the suit clinking and clanking as she walked.

The inside was bare except for a door on the right. She eyed it curiously.

"Is that an elevator?"

"Yes. The others have used it to get to the lower levels of the facility."

There was one button on a panel attached to the wall on the right side of the elevator. Gwen pushed it and it lit up. She waited for a couple of seconds before the elevator doors opened and she walked inside.

"What floor would you suggest?" asked Gwen as she stared at the massive amount of choices.

"I would start with level one."

"Gotcha."

Gwen pressed the button that read "1."

"May I ask what you plan on doing?" asked JARVIS as the doors closed and the elevator descended.

"I wanna find some sort of computer. I'll use you to hack into the facility's mainframe. You're gonna collect all of the data you can. Maps, blueprints, emails, web history, everything." The door opened and Gwen stepped out. "I also want access to every security feed. We're ending AIM tonight."

Gwen looked around as she stepped over unconscious, or possibly dead, bodies littered the floor white. There was no doubt in her mind someone had gone through here. By the looks of it, it had to have been Luke.

"I am detecting a computer in the room to your right," informed JARVIS.

Without trying to open the door, also white like the last AIM facility had been, Gwen instead kicked it down. It felt great to have do much power. No wonder Tony was so arrogant.

It seemed JARVIS was right. On the far end was a regular desk with a normal computer on it. Gwen walked up to it. She then turned over her left arm to look at the small button in the suit. She pressed it and small piece of metal popped up revealing a USB cable. It had been a simple, but effective way to download JARVIS into Tony's suits. She then put the cable into the computer on the side of the computer where there was a hole to plug it in.

"Time to shine, JARVIS."

She watched as the computer lit up and images flashed quickly before her eyes. It was so fast her brain was unable to comprehend any of it.

"It seems the AIM soldiers have been injected with a new version of the super-soldier serum," JARVIS stated.

"What?" asked Gwen with a frown. "They were able to replicate it?"

"Not quite. The soldiers may now have superhuman strength and agility, but they no longer have a conscious like Captain Rogers. They are essentially brain dead."

"Speaking of Captain Rogers, how's he doing?"

"He is on the fourth floor with Mr. Cage. They are, as you would say, 'kicking butt.'"

Gwen couldn't help but laugh at the AI's comment. "And the others?"

"Agents Johnson and Barton on on the ninth floor. They are surrounded, but are unharmed. Colonel Rhodes is circling the facility in the air and Thor is in the air hanger."

"Can you find von Strucker?"

"It appears von Strucker was killed."

Gwen gasped. "What?"

The computer screen turned into security footage of von Strucker being disintegrated by a beam of light being shot by some machine. Gwen watched as this machine went around the desk that had separated it and von Strucker. It looked like some sort of man. Gwen almost slapped her face as she recognized it from some blueprints that had been left behind in the first base. She just couldn't remember what it was called.

"So that thing killed von Struker?" asked Gwen. "What is it?"

"Apparently it's name is MODOK," answered JARVIS.

"What does that stand for?"

"Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing."

"Well isn't that just dandy."

"He has also made himself the new leader of AIM."

"Can you find where they're relocating?"

"Unfortunately, no. It seems know one but MODOK knows for sure. The planes are on autopilot."

"Can't you get the coordinates?"

"I'm afraid not. However, it looks like some sort of island. It seems to be more of a permanent base."

"That's just great. Well, we'll have to stop the planes. Where are they?"

"In the air hanger."

"You said that's where Thor is?"

"Yes. He is attempting to stop the planes himself."

"Show me how to get there. I'll give him some back up."

* * *

After walking down the hall, Steve had found himself with Luke. The soldier was still shocked at the fact Gwen was in a suit, but there was nothing he could do about it. Maybe she'd be safer behind that suit of armor.

Steve saw Luke throw a good punch at one of the enhanced agents. He then hit the floor, completely unconscious. They all seemed pretty stupid to say the least. The agents simply threw themselves around and walked almost like zombies as though they had nothing to do other than fight intruders.

"D'you think these guys are mind controlled?" asked Steve as he hit an agent with his shield.

"I dunno," answered Luke, wiping his brow. "They act like it though. I have this business called Heroes for Hire and on this one mission I went on this guy was dealing with these nanite things."

"Nanites?"

"Yeah. Apparently you inject them into someone's bloodstream or something and you can take over their mind."

Steve kicked an approaching agent in the stomach. "Is that what's going on here?"

"Possibly. But maybe something went wrong. They just seem..."

"Dumb?"

"Yeah. Dumb."

"Guys," came Gwen's voice through Steve's earpiece, "von Strucker's dead. This machine called MODOK killed him and now controls AIM. They're moving to an unknown location right now. I'm headed to the air hanger to try and stop them."

"D'you want us to head there too?" asked Daisy's voice.

"If you can. Thor's already there. We really need to get that guy an earpiece for crying out loud."

"Wait," said Luke, "how're you going to take on airplanes?"

"I've got a suit."

"A - a suit?"

"Long story short I went to Tony's house and stole the suit he once used in Monaco. And I don't really plan on giving it back."

"Oh, you're giving it back," argued Steve.

"Come on, Steve. You're just jealous you're not currently shooting agents with rays of light coming from your palms."

"Just, be careful."

"Trust me, I'll be fine."

Steve knew she would be, but that didn't stop him from being paranoid.

"Should we head there too?" asked Luke,flipping over an agent that had tried to punch him.

"Yeah," answered Steve. "Gwen and Thor can't take on a bunch of planes on their own. Even if Gwen is in a suit."

"She's got guts, I'll give her that."

Steve smiled. "That's my wife for you."

* * *

At Oscorp, Gwen Stacy had pulled down on a fire alarm in hopes of getting everyone out. She didn't know what Norman Osban wanted with her, but she was terrified. She then began making her way for the exit. Peter would want her to get out of there was soon as possible. Out in the strees below, sirens wailed as police cards refitted trucks pulled up in front of the Tower.

The windows shattered in front of Gwen before she could make it to the door, making her scream in fright. Out of nowhere, Osborn flew in on his glider. Without a word, he snatched Gwen up and took off towards the Brooklyn Bridge.

* * *

"I see him," said Tony's voice in Peter's ear.

"Where is he?" asked Petee quickly, his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

"Looks likr he's flying towards Oscorp."

"We can see him too," reported Natasha.

"I'm heading there now," said Peter.

"You might wanna leave this to the big boys, webhead," suggested Tony as Petereasing from his webs.

"He'a going after my girlfriend, Stark!"

"Your girlfriend?" asked Natasha. "Parker, you better not screw this up."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"It means if you have a chance at getting Osborn, don't let your girlfriend get in the way,"explained Clint.

Peter landed on a rooftop of a building next to Oscorp. He was so close now. He could see the lights of the cars down below.

"You don't under-"

Peter gasped as he saw something fly through a window in the Tower. It was only a couple of second before it came back out and was now holding someone.

"Gwen!" shouted Peter.

He tried unsuccessfully to shoot a web at Osborn's glider. It missed and he began flying away.

"Where's he going?" asked Peter angrily as he shot a web at Oscorp Tower and then began climbing up the windows in hopes of getting a better view of the city.

"Leave this to me, kid," answered Tony sternly. Peter could just see Iron Man flyin through the sky.

"Where's he going?"

"Parker-"

"Where!"

"Looks like the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm not sure."

"Please, leave this to me. I've got to save Gwen myself."

There was a moment of hesitation. "Fine. Go."

"Stark-" began Natasha.

"Let the kid do it. Besides, he need to prove himself."

There was an obvious sigh that came from Natasha, but she didn't say anything more. And so Peter began to swing his way to the Brooklyn Bridge.


	31. Chapter Thirty One

**I apologize in advance for the end of this chapter. It had to happen. I'm sorry.**

**LianaDare8: I actually like those names! I actually like Shock the most. I only came up with Energizer and I thought thatwads kinda boring. **

**Itsgoose2u: Thanks! I love whencharacters get sassy. **

**MystiRyter: Okay, so basically the Civil War is when Tony approved of the Superhero Registration Act which meant that the government got to decide who the heroes were and you'd have to give up your secret identity and stuff, but Steve was against it so the two became leaders of opposite forces. So the two fought a lot. That's just a short summary of it haha. **

**The Red Dove: Glad you think so!**

**dragonrain618: Haha thanks. I wanted her to have one too. Maybe Tony'll have to make one for her. **

**Arrows the Wolf: He definitely needs the encouragement. **

**Phantom-Demon: You definitely need to be worried. **

**morbidly-funny: Haha sassy patch. All of the Avengers are sassy. It's insane. **

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: I just love putting our conversations in the story. It's like inside jokes haha. **

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I could see Tony being upset at first, but then getting excited and making her her own suit haha. I dunno why saw wanted Steve and Luke to have a bromance. I guess they kinda do in Ultimate Alliance 2 and I replayed that a few weeks ago so I guess I got the idea from there. About Gwen Stacy...I'm just not gonna comment. I think all stony shippers would die if they did the civil war. They'd probably cry. A lot haha. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One**

The elevator door opened in front of Gwen and she steppe out. Before her was Thor who was attacking what seemed to be a horde of enhanced AIM agents. There were so many that he didn't even have time to attack the plans that were neatly organized in the bright white and huge hanger. At the far end was an open hanger door and Gwen watched as one of the small planes took off and turned invisible as it left the hanger.

"Thor!" Gwen shouted as she walked over, shooting at the agents that charged at her.

"Lady Gwendolyn?" he asked.

"Listen, we've got to stop these planes."

"I am trying, but these warriors are blocking the way."

"You're the god of thunder! Just fly over them or something!"

Thor nodded and started spinning Mjolnir so fast that it was simply a circle around his hand. He then took off at one of the planes, going right through the center of it.

Gwen put out her hands and lifted off the ground so she could get a better view of the area. She was hoping she could find a plane that possibly had MODOK on. Perhaps he had already left.

"JARVIS-"

"He's in the last one, Agent Rogers."

Gwen was thoroughly surprised that JARVIS already knew what she was going to ask, but went with it.

"Thor!" called Gwen. "Hit me!"

"Are you mad, Lady Gwendolyn!" he answered while hitting an agent. "I will not hit you with Mjolnir!"

"Not with the hammer, with lightning! Hit me with lightning!"

Thor looked reluctant as he pointed Mjolnir at the open hanger door and allowed lightning to strike the hammer. He then pointed it at Gwen, sending the lightning her way. Once it hit her, it looked as though the suit was being electrocuted, but Gwen controlled the electricity of it, surprising herself. She had never tried controlling pure electricity before. But then again, it couldn't be much different than just energy.

"Power at four hundred percent," stated JARVIS.

"Put it in the gloves," ordered Gwen, unable to think of a better name.

She then raised her hands and shot at the different planes. They all blew up at the blasts. Gwen then focused on the last plane which was starting I move. She shot a blast at it and groaned when it simply rebounded off of some sort of force field.

"It seems the plane is being protected by an energy shield," stated JARVIS.

"You don't say," answered Gwen sarcastically.

She shot a few more times in hopes that she could break it, but it didn't work. By now the plane was speeding up and heading towards the door. Gwen's heart raced as she began shooting towards it like a rocket, but this plane was different from the others. It was much, much faster.

"Can't this suit go any faster?" complained Gwen.

"Thrusters are are one hundred percent, Agent Rogers."

Gwen's heart dropped as she watched the plane turn invisible as it left the the hanger, the doors beginning to close.

"I'm not gonna make it!"

JARVIS didn't answer her. The doors were just about to close. Gwen had no time to stop as she rammed right into the doors. It hurt as she hit the steel and fell to the ground. She groaned as she lifted herself up into a sitting position.

"Lady Gwendolyn!"

Thor was by her side almost immediately. She sat with her legs stretched out in front of her, her back being supported by the closed doors.

"Are you alright?" asked Thor, kneeling down.

"Yeah," answered Gwen, looking around and seeing that Thor had managed to take down all do agents, "I'm fine. JARVIS, patch me through to everyone."

"Of course," answered the AI.

"MODOK got away," she announced when ready.

"What?" asked Steve.

"I knew we should've stopped fighting these agents and left!" exclaimed Daisy. "Good going, Bobbi."

"Listen, Rhodey," said Gwen, "did you see anything leave?"

"No," he answered. "The sky's clear."

"Are you okay, Gwen?" asked Steve who seemed much more concerned for Gwen than the fact AIM had gotten away.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"We'll be right there."

It was a few short minutes before Steve and Luke came bursting into the hanger. Thor had helped Gwen to her feet and insisted on assisting her to the door. She felt fine other than the headache she had from the impact with the steel doors.

Once Steve was there, Thor transferred her over to the soldier as though she were a doll. Gwen took off the helmet and let it fall to the ground as Steve supported her. Maybe she was more hurt than she realized.

"We've got to get you medical attention," muttered Steve as he helped Gwen sit down on the ground for a moment.

"I'm fine," insisted Gwen.

Steve knelt down next to her and ran his thumb over her forehead and then showed it to her. It was red with her blood.

"It's just a scratch."

She watched as Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He then looked back at her.

"Gwen," he said, taking her hands though it was odd because she was still in the suit, "I don't care what you say, you're getting medical attention now. They'll send someone from the West Coast Tower for us."

"But I have to take this suit back and fix it before Tony finds out. And I have to call Happy and tell him it's safe and-"

Steve silenced her with a kiss. Gwen heard gigging and pulled away to see that Daisy had arrived in the hanger. However, Bobbi wasn't with her whih Gwen found relieving.

Gwen sighed as she allowed JARVIS to make the suit come off and come together to form a suitcase, the helmet being added back.

"D'you need help walking?" asked Steve.

"No, I'm fine," answered Gwen.

She then proceeded to fail in even trying to get up. The world started spinning as she did, but luckily Steve was there to catch her when her knees gave out. Gwen wondered if she had a concussion as she had never had one before and didn't know what it was like. However, her thoughts were cut short as she tried to keep her eyes open.

At first Steve simply helped Gwen walk to the elevator, but while inside he had picked her up bridal style and she didn't even protest.

"Where are the others?" she asked in hopes of keeping herself awake.

"They'll be up soon. They're just going through what's left."

"And where are we going?"

"Rhodey called the Tower and they're sending some people on a Quinjet to help."

"Can't we just go back to New York?"

"You need help now, Gwen."

She didn't argue with him, deciding it was best to save her energy. She barely even noticed when they walked out of the bunker entrance and by the time the Quinjet had arrived, everything went black as Gwen fell asleep in Steve's arms.

* * *

Peter's heart had never raced so fast in his life. All he could think about was how Osborn had Gwen. He had to save her. He had to.

Web after web was shot as Peter made his way to the Brooklyn Bridge. He could see the lights of cars sitting upon it, trying to get to their destination. Peter wondered briefly if anyone had seen Osborn flying through the sky.

Peter landed on a car as he reached the bridge and shot a web up at one of the bridge towers. He wasn't sure where Osboen and Gwen had ended up. But that was until he heard her yell.

"Peter!"

Peter whipped his head up immediately as he landed on a car to look up at the nearbu tower. He then shot a web and watched as it hit the tower. He then went flying up and landed perfectly on one side. On the other side was Osborn holding a terrified Gwen. He was off his glider now and held the girl close to the edge. The only thing that separated Peter from them was a flagpole.

"Let her go, Osborn," said Peter as calmly as he could, his hands out as though he could show he didn't have weapons.

"Peter, go!" shouted Gwen, but Osborn covered her mouth.

"Osborn, you don't have to do this!" said Peter.

A laugh was heard coming from behind the Goblin's mask. "And what makes you think that, Spider-Man?"

"Please, just give her to me. She hasn't done anything wrong."

"So the girl means something to you then? D'you love her?"

Gwen squirmed in Osborn's arms.

"You don't need to hurt her."

"Where's your backbone? She's just a girl! There's plenty more!"

"It doesn't have to be like this. Just let her go."

"Your negotiations bore me, Spider-Man."

"Then let's battle. Just don't hurt Gwen."

"I don't know about that."

Then, to Peter's shock and horror, Osborn dropped her off the edge of the tower.

"GWEN!"

It all went by fast but felt like slow motion and Obsorn moved aside, still laughing as Gwen screamed. Peter rushed forward, ignoring Osborn and shot a web at Gwen. It hit her legs and the screaming stopped. Peter let out a breath of relief, thankful he stopped her fall. He began pulling on the webbing and could see Gwen getting closer to him. Except she limp. Peter's heart raced as she reached the top of the tower and he took her in his arms.

She wasn't breathing.

Her eyes were closed.

Her neck was snapped.

Gwen Stacy was dead.

Peter took off his mask and put it on the ground. Tears flooded his eyes as he cradled Gwen's body in his arms

"Gwen?" he whispered, hoping she's answer him. "Gwen, wake up!"

A tingling sensation ran through his body and he looked up just in time to see the glider moving towards him. Peter ducked, the glider shooting over his head. He could feel the wind of it through his hair. He looked over his shoulder to see the glider impale its rider. Osborn shot back and was pinned to the flag pole on the bridge tower. He arms laid limp at his sides, his body lifeless. The Green Goblin had just killed himself.

"Parker?" asked Natasha's voice in his ear. "Parker, where are you?"

Peter didn't answer. Instead he held Gwen close to him, unwilling to accept that she was dead. He had promised George he'd keep her safe and he failed. He failed in the worst way possible.

"Parker, answer me! Clint, try tracing him."

He couldn't believe she was dead. He wanted revenge, of course, but Osborn had just killed himself. He couldn't get any kind of justice now. Perhaps Oscorp would pay. Someone had to.

Peter barely noticed when a Quinjet came up close and hovered. The back was open and was placed so that he could easily walk on board. But he didn't want to get up. He didn't want to do anything. This was all his fault. She was dead because of him.

"Parker?" asked Natasha.

He didn't look up and see her eyes flicker from him and Gwen's body to Osborn's glider impaled body.

"Peter?" she asked, now with a softer voice. He wasn't sure if she felt bad for him or if she was pretending to be to get him to get up. "Peter, you can bring her with."

Peter didn't know what to say. He just wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare. Gwen was dead.

So instead of speaking, Peter picked up his mask and slid it back on. He clutched Gwen's body close to him as he slowly stoop up. Peter refused to look at anyone as he climbed into the Quinjet. It was completely silent as Natasha moved back into her co-pilot seat.

"What happened?" asked Tony's voice, though Peter wasn't listening.

"Osborn's dead," reported Natasha. "We've got Parker."

Peter wasn't quite sure why she left out the part of Gwen, but didn't ponder on it. Instead he was trying to calm down his heavy, racing heart. And there was only one thing he could think of as the Quinjet flew to the Tower.

He had failed.

* * *

**Okay okay before you all try to kill me, here's the thing. For those that don't know, this happens in the comics. Except Osborn isn't impaled by his glider at the scene. Instead Peter goes after him for revenge and beats him up, but can't bring himself to kill him. Goblin then tries to get Peter from behind, but he dodges and it gets Goblin. I've just combined both issues from this story arc.**


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

**Hello everyone. Let me just say that there is one more chapter after this one (honeymoon time!) and then the epilogue.**

**Miss Singing in the Rain: I KNOW I'M SO SORRY. **

**LianaDare8: I honestly love that name. It'll work out great with what I have planned. **

**The Red Dove: I didn't really think about that actually. I'll have to remember that...**

**MysticRyter: I apologize for the feels. **

**Phantom-Demon: He does need a hug. Perhaps he'll get better.**

**Arrows the Wolf: I'm sorry too.**

**Itsgoose2u: MODOK seriously needs to get his butt kicked. **

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: BRB DYING. I can't wait for you to update so I can do that omg. And hey, good job haha!**

**12141998: Thank you! :D**

**Guest: I know, poor Peter. **

**Lena Sauran: i think we're all feeling for Peter haha. **

**snowyclara: Yes, Harry does sort of go insane haha. I can't remember exactly what happens but I'm pretty sure he eventually finds out Peter is spiderman. At least the mess wasn't too bad then haha. **

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: No it's not just you haha. She's somehow developed into a sassy character. I'm glad you understand killing Gwen Stacy though. I was super worried about it. I honestly don't know how Daisy and Darcy tunes into fangirls haha. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

"Could you contact them?"

"No, but I'm not sure why."

"Maybe something's going on in New York. Can you check your phone?"

"Don't you have a phone, Cap?"

"Well, yes, but I don't have it with me."

"Why not?"

"Gwen brings hers, it's much simpler that way. I tend to accidentally call people."

"Oh my God, that's hilarious."

"Shut up, Daisy."

Gwen slowly opened her eyes, curious to know what Steve and and Daisy were talking about. She hadn't comprehended the conversation as she had been in the process of waking up. She found that her head hurt, but it was tolerable. She was sitting in a seat on board a flying Quinjet that must of been heading back to New York.

On the other side of the Quinjet sat Daisy who was scrolling the touch screen on her phone. Standing near the pilot and co-pilot seats was Steve, Thor and Luke. Gwen assumed Bobbi and Rhodey went back to the West Coast Tower.

Out of stupidity, Gwen attempted to stand up which got the attention of the others, especially because she felt dizzy and started falling over. Steve rushed over and gently pushed her back down.

"Easy, now," he said. "They said your head's gonna be fine, but you'll probably be in some pain and a little dizzy."

"What's happening in New York?" asked Gwen, starting to make sense of the conversation she heard before.

"Looks like something attacked the Empire State Building," answered Daisy, not looking up from her phone. "I can give Darcy a call if you want. She probably won't answer though, I'm pretty sure a new episode of Teen Wolf is on tonight."

"It's fine."

"We can't get contact with them," added Steve. "Like Fury and the rest of SHIELD. They must be too busy with whatever is happening there."

"Maybe it's Osborn," suggested Luke.

"It is," said Daisy, holding up her phone so everyone could see a blurry video. "Looks like Green Goblin strikes again."

"When was that uploaded?" asked Gwen.

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"We should try contacting them again," said Steve.

"Are we not almost there?" asked Thor.

"Thunder's right," said Luke. "We're almost to New York. We'll find out when we get there."

Thor had been right. It was only a few more minutes before the Quinjet landed on the helipad. Gwen was feeling better at this point, but Steve still helped her walk just in case. Daisy followed behind them out of the aircraft, texting on her phone. Thor and Luke came out after her. Phil was already waiting.

"Director Fury is in the conference room," he stated. "He'd like to debrief you."

"What happened when we were gone?" asked Steve.

"He'll inform you."

With that Phil turned around and headed towards the conference room. The others followed quickly.

It seemed the other Avengers weren't present at this meeting. Why they weren't there was beyond Gwen. So, Steve sat Gwen down and took a chair next to her. Daisy sat across from them next to Luke and Thor stood behind them. Fury was at the head of the table with Phil.

"Osborn's dead," stated Fury, getting straight to the point. "So is a girl by the name of Gwen Stacy."

Gwen's heart dropped. She remembered Peter mentioning her before. He had said her father died and he had felt it was his fault. Was she really dead?

"What?" asked Gwen.

"Osborn attacked the Empire State Building. He then went after his own Tower in order to grab the girl. We think he was trying to get to Parker."

"Did they know each other?" asked Steve.

"They were dating," informed Gwen.

She saw Steve's jaw clench at her words.

"Osborn's glider impaled him," continued Fury. "There were fortunately no other deaths reported, just injuries."

It was silent for a moment as they all took this new information in.

"Doctor Banner suggests that it was Parker that actually killed Stacy," added Fury in a quieter voice which was incredibly uncharacteristic. "Osborn had thrown her off the Brooklyn Bridge and Parker stopped her with a web. The sudden stop broke her neck."

"We can't tell Peter," said Gwen. "I'm sure he's already putting enough blame on himself."

"Where is he anyway?" asked Daisy.

"I sent him home," answered Fury.

"And the others?" inquired Thor.

"Around here somewhere. They all came back once a medical team had been sent to the injured. Now if don't mind, I'd like to know what happened in Malibu."

That had definitely been a hard thing to explain. Especially because Gwen had to admit to using the suit. It was hard to tell what Fury thought of her actions, but she had seen Phil give a smile behind his back.

After the explaining was done, Fury had one more thing to say before making a call to Rhodey and Bobbi who were apparently still at the facility trying to get information.

"Right now our priority is AIM. Do not, and I repeat, _do not_ mess with Oscorp. If you do, I will find out and there will be consequences. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. You're dismissed."

Gwen refused Steve's help and went with Daisy to change. Daisy was done first and said goodnight before heading back to her place. Once Gwen was back in her street clothes, she exited the locker room to find Steve.

"D'you mind if we speak to Tony first?" she asked him.

"No, it's fine," he answered, though she could tell he'd rather go home.

"JARVIS, where's Tony?"

"In his lab with Doctor Banner and Doctor Pym, Agent Rogers," answered the AI.

"Thanks."

One elevator ride later and Gwen and Steve found themselves in that very lab with those people. The couple then had to explain what happened in Malibu due to the request of the geniuses, but it didn't go as well with Tony.

"You what?" he asked, his eyes wide when Gwen explained going to his house and taking a suit.

"It was better than nothing!" she defended.

"Why are people always taking my suits! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"I'm sure she was fine," added Bruce softly as though he didn't want to be heard.

"How did it go?" asked Hank.

"No, don't ask her how it went!" yelled Tony. "You said you'd never ask to have a suit made for you!"

"I never said I changed my mind," argued Gwen. "I just stole one of yours."

"Exactly! I can tell you loved it. Now you'll want your own!"

"I'm not gonna get myself killed, Tony. And I'm not asking for you to make me a suit anyway. But if you wanted to-"

"I don't want to."

"Rhodey has a suit!"

"He stole the Mark II!"

"Then I'm just gonna have to steal one!"

"Oh, no you're not."

"Just watch me, Tony. I'd continue this conversation but I have to call Happy. I forgot he's probably still hanging out at your house."

* * *

After a quick call to Happy which ended with Tony trying to steal Gwen's phone in order to say hello, Gwen and Steve headed home. It was slightly hard to believe it was still April First and Gwen's worst fear at the beginning of the day was that Tony would pull a terrible prank.

However, Gwen couldn't help but feel horrible for Peter. She knew he'd be taking this event hard. He was a good kid that was going through some rough times.

"Is something wrong?" asked Steve as he lowered himself onto their bed where Gwen sat cross legged and deep in thought.

"This day was just a total failure," she admitted. "I mean, MODOK got away and Peter's girlfriend was killed."

"So was Osborn."

"That's not the point. The point is someone died that didn't have to and there's still a crazy organization on the loose."

"At least Tony didn't actually kill you for using a suit."

Gwen couldn't stop a smile from appearing on her face. "Maybe he'll warm up to the idea."

"I know I won't."

"Then why aren't you siding with him?"

Steve shrugged. "I need to stop worrying and just trust you. It's hard, but I know I should."

"Thanks...I guess."

"D'you think Parker will be okay?"

Now Gwen shrugged. "I dunno. I sure hope so. If he isn't, Fury might kick him out of the group for a while."

"That wouldn't surprise me."

Gwen laid down on her back and stared at the ceiling. Steve laid down next to her. She scooted over and rested her head on his chest while his arms went around her.

"I feel like I failed today," admitted Gwen.

"You didn't fail," replied Steve.

"We didn't stop AIM."

"But that's not your fault."

"I was in the hanger, Steve! I was supposed to stop that plane with MODOK on it, but I failed to."

"You do realize that anyone else wouldn't have stopped it either, right?"

Gwen sighed. "I know. I just wish it would've ended differently."

Steve kisses the top of her head. "I know. Hey, maybe we can go on our honeymoon now."

A smile found its way to Gwen's lips. "I sure hope so."

"If anyone deserves a break, it's you."

"Even I can agree with that."

* * *

Gwen held Peter's hand as they stood in line in the graveyard. He had a solemn expression on his face, like he wasn't sure how to feel. Gwen was the only Avenger there, the others working hard at tracking down MODOK and the rest of AIM. And she knew he needed support. He needed a lot of it.

It had been a week since what Gwen still considered to be the first failure of the Avengers. Tony had calmed down about Gwen using a suit and she was beginning to think he might just make one for her. Pepper was actually keen on the idea of Gwen getting her own suit. She thought that it would be good to have someone with equal power to Tony around just in case they needed it.

Gwen Stacy's mother and brothers were there at the graveyard, none of them acknowledging Peter. He seemed terribly guilty and Gwen couldn't blame him. She wondered if any of her family blamed him for the death of their loved one. It did seem suspicious that he came into their lives and then two of their family members were killed.

The funeral had gone by quickly. Gwen had never known the girl, but couldn't help but feel sad. Sad that an innocent life was lost that didn't need to be taken. Funerals were just sad in general no matter whose it was. Especially this one since it was for a teenage girl that did no wrong. That's the part that made Gwen's heart tighten in her chest. Gwen Stacy had a life ahead of her yet it was all gone in the blink of an eye. It was a good thing Peter didn't know exactly what killed her, otherwise he would probably have gone mad.

Gwen waited patiently as Peter's turn to say goodbye came. She let him be alone as he approached the coffin. Whatever was said went unheard by everyone else around there. Gwen saw Peter put one hand on the coffin and then take it away. He lifted his arm and wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket and turned around. There were still tears in his eyes, but any sign of them on his face was gone. Gwen attempted to give him a smile, but he just walked past her and towards her car.

With a sigh, Gwen turned around and followed him. She saw him get in the passenger side of her blue Beetle. He slammed the car door rather loudly, causing other people nearby to look over. Gwen got in the driver's side and closed her door much more softly.

Gwen turned on the car but then turned to Peter. He had his head turned to stare out his window.

"Y'know," began Gwen, "I once won a goldfish at this fair when I was eight. My parents wanted to teach me responsibility so they made me take care of it. Except I forgot to feed it. So one morning I woke up to go look at it and it was dead."

Peter now turned to look at her, his brow furrowed. "Are you trying to make me feel better? Because its not working."

"No, I'm trying to tell you that we all make mistakes. And sometimes it costs lives. I'm trying to tell you that you're not alone and if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here and there are the others as well. We may not be the most functional crime-fighting group, but we're there for each other."

Peter was silent as he took in Gwen's words. He looked back out the passenger door window as Gwen put the car in drive.

"And now we go to Dairy Queen."

Gwen smiled as Peter furrowed his brow.

"Dairy Queen?" he asked.

"Don't tell me ice cream doesn't make you feel better."

"I'm pretty sure ice cream isn't going to make me forget my girlfriend's dead."

"I didn't say it would, but maybe if you can't numb the memories at least you can numb your mouth."

Gwen smiled as Peter gave a small chuckle. She heard the familiar jingle of her phone and put the car back in park so she could look at it. After searching around in her bag, she found it and unlocked it to see the text message she had been sent from Fury that must've went out to everyone.

_Osborn's body is gone._


	33. Chapter Thirty Three

**Well, this is the last chapter before the epilogue. I hope you enjoy the honeymoon! Sorry there's like zero action in this.**

**The Red Dove: Or perhaps there's zombies. That's always the answer.**

**KookyNorthWesterner: I'M SORRY. **

**LianaDare8: She'll probably be getting her name sometime in the next installment. **

**MysticRyter: Haha my tumblr is always showing. I don't think he could handle it either.**

**Itsgoose2u: At least Tony's cooled down now haha. Dairy Queen always helps. Or maybe Osborn ****just got up an left hmm...**

**Phantom-Demon: I'd be surprised I'd people didn't think zombies haha. I'm glad you think they're cute :D**

**Arrows the Wolf: Or someone just likes stealing bodies of psycho. I kid, I kid.**

**WillowDamon17: That's a great attitude about her dying haha. **

**Ms. Smooth Criminal: I don't like seeing Peter hurt either so I'm making him happy in the next installment. I feel horrible as a writer when I hurt characters. I am tempted to give Gwen te Iron Patriot suit and just disregard the fact it's really Osborn's. Then se could be like Mrs. Captain America. Peter will alway win because he's awesome haha. **

**Justasmalltowngirl2713: Two different moods in one review. I love you.**

**snowyclara: And as a writer I shall slay thee glimmer of hope! Just kidding. Don't worry, you won't be confused for long. Trust me, things are going to get even more Phil CoUlsan epic coming soon. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

Once Fury cleared them, Gwen and Steve packed their bags and headed to Orlando, Florida. It hadn't actually been that long after it turned out Norman Osborn's body was taken. Apparently he either woke up in the morgue and got out or someone stole the body. How this was possible they didn't know, but Fury made it clear that to the rest of the world, Osborn was dead.

Gwen managed to get them good plane tickets a couple days after they found out they could finally go on their honeymoon. There was no way they were taking a Quinjet. She also bought their tickets to the theme parks online, making it a lot easier when they got there for their two week trip as well as booking a hotel room. Gwen, of course, helped Steve with packing his suitcase. He wasn't particularly good at folding things so after Gwen took charge, he could actually fit all his things in there.

On the day of departure, the couple ate a quick breakfast before getting all last minute objects into their suitcases before putting them in the Beetle. They then drove out to JFK airport.

After getting the car safely parked, the got their suitcases out and Gwen led him through checking in their luggage and checking in for their flight. They were flying American Airlines like Gwen always did. Needless to say, Gwen gave Steve a detailed explanation of what to do while going through security. It fortunately all went smoothly and the couple walked hand in hand to Terminal 8.

It was honestly incredibly amusing to Gwen how Steve was baffled by the airport. Occasionally she'd have to tug on his hand to keep him walking as he'd stop to look at something. She had to admit, she'd probably react the same way in his position. However, it didn't stop her from feeling like a mother with a five year old that had a short attention span.

"This place is huge," stated Steve as they sat down at their gate.

"Mmhmm," answered Gwen as she unconsciously crossed one leg over the other and took out her phone to check it.

"What time is our flight?"

"Eleven twenty-one."

"That's a weird time."

"Yep."

"But we have an hour wait yet."

"Yep."

"Why are we here so early?"

Gwen sighed and turned to her husband. "There's been a lot of issues with planes and security and whatnot. It's always smart to get here early."

"How long is the flight?"

"I don't know."

Steve sighed and let his head fall back. He then brought it back up again.

"What time is it now?"

Gwen sighed to control herself. She was beginning to wish they had taken a Quinjet instead. But Steve needed to ride a regular plane at some point. She knew he had to get used to today's world in order to keep moving on.

To keep her child of a husband from going insane from boredom, she handed him her copy of the first Harry Potter book that she brought along. Perhaps he'd stop complaining then.

The plan seemed to work as Steve got lost in Harry's magical world for the rest of the time they spent waiting. Gwen couldn't help but steal a few glances at Steve. He looked very cute when he was reading.

When the plane started boarding, Gwen and Steve waited until their time to get on. Once they heard it, Gwen stood up and Steve followed her. He watched her as she gave her ticket to a woman who ripped it and gave the smaller piece back to her.

Gwen watched Steve follow her actions and she then lead him onto the plane. He seemed uncomfortable as they walked down the aisle due to his height. Gwen wondered if he was used to having to duck all of the time yet.

They found their seats fast. The plane had three seats on one side and two seats on the other, so Gwen had made sure their seats were on the two seat side. She allowed Steve to have the window seat so he could enjoy the view, or at least she hoped. She didn't really know what he was like with heights but could only assume he was okay with them.

It seemed that Steve really liked the book. Gwen was on her kindle app the entire time while Steve completely ignored everything that went on around him. She couldn't help but wonder if he was a big reader before the serum. It wouldn't be surprising. But it was definitely an interesting sight.

After the plane landed in Orlando, Gwen and Steve got off. Gwen could smell the air and felt at home. She loved the smell of Orlando. It smelled like home.

After getting off the plane, Gwen led Steve towards the shuttles that led from one part of the airport to another. She knew the place by heart and got them there quickly. Steve was once again trying to take everything in as the shuttle zoomed along. Fortunately there wasn't a massive amount of people in there as that was generally an uncomfortable experience.

After the shuttle ride, the two of them headed to baggage claim and stood near the carousel that the pilot had announced to the plane that their luggage would be on.

"You used to live here?" asked Steve suddenly.

"Not in the airport," answered Gwen, "but there is a hotel in here."

"No, I mean in Orlando."

"Yes, I did. It's where Tony found me."

"He found you here?"

"He was on this business trip and I hacked into his Internet connection. He caught me and offered me a job."

"That's...impressive."

Gwen smiled as she turned her back to Steve and leaned into him. His arms went around her waist as they waited. After what felt like forever, the carousel started moving. Gwen always suffered from bad luck when it came to baggage claim and her luggage was generally the last one to come out. But for some odd reason, luck was on her side that day. Out of the first ten things to slide out, her and Steve's suitcases where two of them. Steve managed to grab them both for them which definitely made things easier. Gwen was horrible at picking things up off the carousel.

After that they headed to the car rental building. Gwen had reserved a car under the "Dollar" company and it was a pretty nice small, silver car. Steve let Gwen drive seeing as he would have no idea what to do. As they got in the car, Gwen had a sudden image of Steve getting in the driver's seat as she buckled in their own child in the back who was excited at the new sights. Gwen shook her head at the idea and started up the car.

After finishing there, Gwen immediately drove them to a Denny's to grab some lunch. She was starving and could assume that Steve was probably even hungrier. She had a feeling being a super soldier did that to you.

Once done with lunch, Gwen saw that it was nearly two in the afternoon. She decided that they might as well head to Walmart straight away. Gwen wasn't actually sure if Steve had ever been in a Walmart. In the time they had been living together, it has always been her going alone while he was at the Tower. It was definitely going to be nice to have some extra help.

Like on every vacation Gwen went on, she stocked up on junk food. Steve seemed appalled by how many unhealthy items were in the cart, but he didn't say anything.

"We're on our honeymoon," defended Gwen. "We can do what we want."

Steve simply nodded, though she could tell he was secretly going to enjoy this.

After getting necessities and other items, they checked out. It was now approaching three thirty. Check in probably wasn't until four, but perhaps they could get in early. Gwen then drove them to Marriot's Cypress Harbor aka the place they'd be staying. She had booked them a two bedroom suite, one of which would be used as a "throw all your junk in there" room. The place looked nice and they had the money to stay at a nice place so Gwen just went with it.

It turned out they could get in early and Steve helped Gwen get the luggage and the grocery bags up to their floor, which was the sixteenth. The room was very nice. They walked into it and to the left was a full kitchen. Steve set the bags down there while Gwen rolled the suitcases into the master bedroom which was off from the living room and balcony which had a view of the pool they would not be using as Gwen was allergic to chlorine.

The master bedroom was spacious with a bed that was big and high. There was a jacuzzi like tub outside of the bathroom which seemed odd to her, but she just went with it. She got the suitcases up on the bed for easy access and had Steve start unpacking things while she handled the food.

Of course, Gwen had to give Tony and Pepper a call seeing as they wanted to make sure everything went okay. Gwen listened to Pepper go on about how they had decided to have the wedding before the end of the month in hopes of keeping it secret. That surprised Gwen as she expected Tony to want it to be big, but it seemed Pepper had managed to get her way.

By the time all of that was done, if was nearing seven at night and Gwen plopped down on the large couch. There was a flats teen television, not unlike the one in their own living room. Steve sat down next to her and she cuddled up close to him as he put his arms around her.

"I've never had a vacation before," he admitted softly.

"Really?" asked Gwen, looking up at him.

He shrugged. "It would've been difficult. But now I can actually enjoy. Especially because I've got you now."

Gwen couldn't stop herself and giggled. She reached up and kissed her husband, just as happy to be with him as he was to be with her.

* * *

The next morning, Gwen woke up in messed up sheets and a warm body next to her. She blinked a few times as the clock came into focus and her eyes widened at the sight.

It was nearly twelve in the afternoon.

Gwen had never slept this late in her life. But boy, did she need it. She knew no one could make up sleep, but it sure felt like she did. She stretched out her arms and realized that one of Steve's was draped over her.

She heard Steve groan from waking up and felt him pull her closer to him. Gwen could hide her smile at the gesture.

"What time is it?" he mumbled in a voice that was a bit huskier from sleep.

"Lunchtime."

"Wow. I don't think I've ever sleep in this much."

"Please don't tell me you've already forgotten that time you sleep for seventy years in a block of ice."

"Very funny."

Gwen smiled and closed her eyes, simply content with laying in bed with Steve. It was the first time since they were married that they could actually relax. It was very, very nice. Besides, she knew she'd be making Steve get up earlier for the rest of the time they were in Orlando because she loved getting to parks in the morning and then leaving at night. It was a great way to spend the day.

After another hour of simply snuggling with Steve, Gwen forced herself up. She quickly made her way into the bathroom for a shower and by the time she got out, Steve was asleep again.

"You should really wake up," she said, shaking him.

"Mmhmm."

"By the way, Tony's here."

Steve shot up. "What?"

Gwen smiled. "I'm kidding. I just thought that would get you up."

"I hate you." Steve pulled Gwen onto his lap and kissed her deeply. Gwen was thoroughly pleased that they no longer blushed around each other. It would be ridiculous anyway.

Gwen finally got Steve up, but he moved slowly. It seemed he barely ever had a relaxing day in his life, so she really couldn't blame him. So Gwen dried her hair and got dressed as Steve took a shower and dressed himself. It was nearly three by the time they actually ate something which was a strange brunch combination.

Gwen checked her phone which had several messages on, most of them from Tony. It seemed it found it funny to put one word in each one text message and then send a bunch to form a sentence.

The rest of the day was spent in the hotel room, something Gwen had never done before. When she had vacationed with her parents, they were always going somewhere. But then again, they had never gone through what Gwen and Steve had.

By the end of the day, the two were back in bed, surprisingly able to sleep even more.

The second day came quickly and Gwen was awake early this time from excitement. She felt like a little kid as she wondered what the Harry Potter theme park would be like. She was really hoping Steve would like the place as much as she would. Besides, he had never been to Universal Studios before and she had gone there practically everyday before getting hired by Tony.

Gwen showed quickly and by the time she came out in her robe, Steve was waking up.

"Good morning," she greeted him, planting a kiss on his check.

Steve groaned into his pillow in some sort of protest to waking up. Gwen rolled her eyes as she grabbed something to eat for breakfast while Steve showered. The television was turned on to play some Spongebob.

Once she finished and Steve was out of the shower and more awake, she finished getting ready for the day. It was in the eighties Fahrenheit so she wore tan shorts and a loose, light blue v-neck shirt. Her blonde curls were pulled into a ponytail and a minimal amount of makeup was put on. She'd probably end up sweating it off anyway.

Gwen finally got Steve out of his khakis and button down shirt. Instead he was wearing cargo shorts and a white t-shirt. In all honestly, he looked very attractive in it. Gwen was secretly looking forward to walking around the parks holding his hand and sending girls that checked him out dirty glares. She would never admit this out loud, though.

After both of them were ready, the two got in the car. Both had their sunglasses on their faces as they settled down in the car. Gwen insisted on driving seeing as Steve would be so lost with parking at Universal. She could easily picture him getting flustered.

Gwen's heart was racing as they made their way to the park. She took the proper exits, knowing the way by heart. She pulled up to pay for parking and was nearly bouncing in her seat.

"That'll be twenty dollars please," said the man in the booth and Gwen handed him the money, ignoring Steve's gasp.

"Twenty dollars?" he repeated. "For parking?"

Gwen continued driving into the parking building. "That's pretty normal actually, especially because it's preferred parking. I'm glad I didn't tell you how much the ticket prices are."

"How much?"

"I'm not gonna tell you."

They drove up a few levels and Gwen squealed on the inside with triumph as they parked in the Cat in the Hat area. She the looked out over the park and could just see over the trees at what had to be the tip of Hogwarts.

"I think I'm gonna die," she mumbled as she grabbed her satchel and took out some sunscreen. "I'm assuming you don't need any of this, right?"

Steve shook his head. "I don't sunburn."

"Lucky. I hate being pale. I'm either albino or lobster."

After applying a good amount of sunscreen, Gwen put the bottle back in her satchel and stepped out. Steve got out as well, looking around at all of the cars and people. There were other couples and families, some with teenagers and some with little kids. Everyone looked excited like they were on a vacation. Gwen couldn't help but find it humorous that these people were in the presence of Captain America and his wife and didn't even know it.

Gwen grabbed Steve's hand and he smiled down at her as they walked towards the stairs that would take them to the proper floor to get to the park. Gwen was also looking forward to seeing his face when they got to certain attractions. Although he had seen some amazing technology while in Avengers Tower and the Helicarrier, this was totally different.

They finally made it to the moving walkways that would take them to CityWalk. Steve stepped onto it slowly, unsure about the action.

"You won't fall over," Gwen said soft enough so only he could hear.

Steve smiled again and the two walked on the walkway around the people that just stood there. It always irritated her when people just stood on it instead of walking, especially when they didn't let anyone past.

They reached the large circular area that had several kiosks and then went onto another set of moving walkways. They quickly entered CityWalk and Gwen looked over at Steve to see his reaction. His lips were slightly parted in what seemed to be shock or amazement. Gwen once again tried thinking in his shoes and took a look around as they walked. Stores blasted music, lights were flashing and huge posters hung on building walls. They passed the giant movie theater to the right and went under the sign on a walkway that read "Welcome to Universal Orlando Resort."

Off in the distance, Gwen could see the Islands of Adventure tower and some of the large roller coasters. She could smell the food from the many surrounding restaurants. The sun beat down on them and Gwen could tell it was going to be a long day.

After some more walking, they made it to the point where if one went right they'd go to Universal Studios and if one went left they would go towards Islands of Adventure. Gwen steered Steve left and looked out over the park and could see the tip of Hogwarts.

"Is it possible to die of excitement?" she asked with a never ending smile on her face.

"I sure hope not 'cause I'd be so lost here on my own," answered Steve.

"There are maps you know. I just have this place memorized like the back of my hand."

They passed the tower and approached a kiosk where Gwen put in the right information a gathered their tickets.

"I think I've found my new favorite place," said Steve who was in awe.

"Just wait until we get inside."

Gwen quickly explained to Steve how to get into the park with the whole fingerprint machine. She knew he watched closely as she did it and managed to get through without trouble.

"They won't trace that, will they?" he asked as he took her hand again and gave her his ticket so he wouldn't lose it.

Gwen laughed until she realized he was serious. "No, Steve. They're not gonna trace you. No one here knows you've saved the world several times."

They fortunately managed to avoid some photographers that were preying on the guests to take their picture before continuing on. Steve was still trying to take everything in. Gwen found herself occasionally tugging on his hand when he got distracted by something. It was amusing though.

They got to the point where they either went right to Seuss Landing or left to Toon Lagoon. From what Gwen could see, and that was much more of Hogwarts, it looked like going right was fastest. She tugged on Steve's hand to stop him from watching a few people walking around on stilts.

Gwen and Steve hurried through Seuss Landing. She told him she wouldn't make him spend too much time here seeing it was generally more for little kids. Gwen couldn't help but picture her and Steve taking their own child to this park. She then shook her head again. This was not the time to think of such things.

After traveling through the Lost Continent area and getting Steve to stop staring at the talking fountain, they finally made it to the entrance to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Gwen was pretty sure she died as Hogsmeade came into view. It was all so perfect. The stores, the fake snow on the roofs, the street, Hogwarts in the distance, everything. She clutched onto Steve's arm, too amazed to keep walking.

It seemed there wasn't too many people in this part of the park and the couple was able to get in. Gwen was nearly in tears at the sight of the Hogwarts Express to the right and Zonko's and Honeyduke's to the left. There was a cart in the center with Butterbeer on and people were going in and out of the Three Broomsticks. Screams came from the roller coasters that Gwen was going to refuse to go on. Roller coasters and her didn't mix.

Gwen and Steve passed Ollivanders and Gwen jumped up and down with excitement.

"We need to go in there!" she told him.

"Who's Ollivander again?" asked Steve.

"Wand maker. My wand will choose me, Steve. But after we go on the ride down there."

Gwen pointed to the castle where she knew the most amazing ride was. It was probably a terrible idea to take Steve on this one first, but she didn't care. This place was amazing.

A sign read that there was an hour wait. Gwen sighed with relief as she expected it to be much longer than that. However, she was rather concerned with the long list of warnings that went along with the ride. She didn't let Steve see it of course.

After getting a locker to throw her bag in, her and Steve got in the line. It was long and extended out into the sun where fans blew on them. Gwen tried explaining everything about Harry Potter that she could to Steve even though at times it seemed he was just focused on looking at her than listening.

After about forty minutes in line and giving glares to the parents of several screaming children, Gwen and Steve had finally made it up to the entrance to the castle. They walked through the corridors and past paintings that moved and eventually into Dumbledore's office. There were no words to describe how Gwen felt at seeing Michael Gambon standing up there and talking to them all, even if it was just a recording. Even Steve was impressed by it.

They walked through the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and Gwen squealed at the sight of Harry, Ron and Hermione. While they were in there, they talked about Professor Binns and Ron made it snow. It truly was magical.

The line continued on even further and they passed the sorting hat, but Gwen couldn't hear what it was saying. They finally got to the end of the line where Gwen could see the seats. Her heart was pounding loudly as they finally made it to the end.

* * *

Gwen didn't speak as she got out of her seat at the end of the ride. Her knees were shaking and her heart was still pounding. Steve was laughing beside her and she smiled widely.

"That beats Stark's machines any day," stated Steve.

"That was the best thing in the history of the world," added Gwen, the two of them linking hands.

It definitely was amazing, granted Gwen thought she would actually fall out of her seat at the part with the Whomping Willow.

The two made their way out and into the store that came afterwards. It was incredibly crowded and Gwen knew they'd be coming back so there was no point in getting anything yet. So instead, they went back to the lockers and Gwen snatched up her bag. The two of them left the castle and made their way back down Hogsmeade.

After a quick discussion, it was decided they'd come back later in the day to see if the place was less crowded in order to enjoy it more. This also meant it was time to move onto Jurassic Park. Gwen had been looking forward to bringing Steve to this part as she couldn't wait to see his face when they went on the water ride. She was unfortunately unable to convince Steve the animatronics were real. Once the boat had gone down the long drop, Gwen felt refreshed by the water. It was getting really hot out.

They continued into the facility and grabbed something to eat at the restaurant in there. Gwen couldn't help but remember Daisy telling her to watch out for "velociraptor Hiddles." Gwen didn't know what the heck a "Hiddles" was, but had nodded and pretended she understood anyway.

After finishing with Jurassic Park, they went through Toon Lagoon and went on the water rides there. They then headed back to the Lost Continent where Gwen and Steve watched the Sinbad show and went through the Poseidon attraction which Steve was incredibly impressed with. By this time the day was coming to a close and they headed back to Harry Potter world. The line for the ride was now down to forty minutes and Gwen convinced Steve they needed to go on it again. After that she and Steve went to Ollivanders. He obviously didn't quite understand the importance of this, but went through it for his wife. And Gwen, of course, got her own wand which was long and crooked like it was bent and had a serpent with half of a skeleton at the end. It was really cool looking and Gwen wanted it badly. They of course stopped in Honeyduke's and Zonko's before leaving, Gwen getting overly excited about everything.

Needless to say the day had been a success.

* * *

The third day was dedicated to Disney's Hollywood Studios or as Gwen always knew it, MGM. It was actually Gwen's favorite Disney park. She was also excited to see the new Star Wars ride and was planning on going on it several times in order to experience the different scenarios.

Once they got there and had parked, Gwen lead Steve to a kiosk where she gathered their tickets. They used them and got into the park. Gwen smiled at the sight of Mickey's hat as the walked by it.

First thing was to get to the Star Wars ride. Gwen had managed to show Steve all of the films and knew he'd understand it.

"Y'know, I think Samuel L. Jackson was here for a Star Wars weekend thing here," said Gwen.

"Who?" asked Steve.

"He's from Star Wars and other movies."

Steve's face was blank.

"Mace Windu. Guy with the purple lightsaber."

"Oh! Yeah, him."

"If they ever made a movie about SHIELD, he'd make a badass Nick Fury."

Gwen got them fast passes to the ride and once it was their time to go on it, she quickly lead Steve there.

This time they got the Naboo ride. Gwen was thoroughly pleased with the new ride.

Next they ventured onto the Great Movie Ride, something she knew Steve would appreciate as several movie featured on this ride he'd probably recognize. It seemed his favorite part was in Munchkinland. She could've sworn he muttered something about flying monkeys.

They spent the rest of the day in the park despite the many screaming kids. They went on the Star Wars ride several times and watched the Indiana Jones show as well as Beauty and the Beast. Gwen got a coke icee, which she had been dying to have since they landed in Orlando.

At the end of the day, the two of them headed with the crowd to watch the fireworks show. It had been so long since Gwen last saw it and was excited to watch it again. She had wondered if Steve would freak out at the noises like it would remind him of the war, but he was a big boy. He could handle fireworks.

After the show, Gwen drove them back to the hotel, listening to Steve talk about how they should have fireworks on his birthday.

The forth day was spent at the Universal part of Universal Studios. Gwen drove them once again and they ended up in the King Kong area this time. Steve seemed rather anxious to get to the park and Gwen couldn't blame him. However, due to him being a super soldier, his feet weren't hurting from walking like Gwen's were. But she had headaches worse than this before. She wasn't going to let sore feet stop her from enjoying this trip.

They got through CityWalk and went in the other direction to walk towards Universal. Gwen took out their tickets and handed Steve's his. They passed the Universal globe and went under the large archway. They used their tickets and entered the park.

Gwen decided to do what her and her parents always had done all this years before when they got to the park. Head straight for the Men in Black ride. It had always been their favorite. Gwen wondered how Steve was going to react to shooting animatronic aliens.

"Shoot at the aliens until their eyes change from green to red," she told Steve as they passed the Shrek 4-D ride. "Then at one point you'll hear someone tell you to push the red button. It will start flashing. You push it then. It gets you all these extra points."

Steve nodded. "It's not...real guns, is it?"

Gwen shook her head. "It's all fake, Steve. Don't worry."

They eventually passed the Simpsons ride and Steve looked thoroughly terrified of the huge Krusty the Clown head. Gwen was excited to go on that ride as she hadn't actually been to the park since they still had the Back to the Future ride.

They finally got to the back of the park where Steve went with Gwen to go get a locked. She knew she'd be fine with her satchel on the ride, but did so anyway. She certainly liked this locker area better than the Harry Potter one, especially because there was practically no one around.

There was a couple of other people as Gwen lead Steve into the room while they waited for the employee to start the recording. Once it seemed that no one else was coming, the recording started. It ended and the "elevator" doors opened. Since there was so few people there was plenty of room. Gwen remembered when the ride first opened and there were so many people.

Once the doors opened again, Gwen had to stop herself from running. After a very long walk and dragging Steve along past the "alien command center," they finally got to the start of the ride.

"I can't believe you beat me," said Gwen as their car pulled forward and the safety bars went up.

Steve smiled widely. "I'm a pretty good aim."

"So am I!"

"In case you've forgotten, I'm Captain America."

Gwen rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the car, followed by Steve.

"You need to stop hanging out with Tony."

The couple didn't bother looking at the picture taken during the ride and instead walked out of the store and straight to the lockers. After grabbing their things, Gwen debated where to take Steve next. She settled on the Simpsons ride seeing as it was so close.

"What is that thing, anyway?" asked Steve as they went through Krusty's mouth entrance.

"It's Krusty the Clown!" Gwen exclaimed. "You need to watch more television."

After that ride, Gwen took Steve to the Horror Makeup Show which he seemed to find rather enjoyable. She purposefully sat them near the back of the audience though so he wouldn't freak out when the one actor sprayed water at the front with the fake heart. Gwen found herself reminding Steve several times that none of this was real.

After that she took Steve for lunch at Mel's Diner which also happened to be the place she loved eating at while in the park. Even though it was a fifties diner, it was a bit similar to some places that Steve had eaten in before he was frozen, though there were still major differences.

After lunch, the two roamed around, avoiding parades that seemed to now take place at the park. Gwen had totally forgotten that the Jaws ride had been taken out and was thoroughly disappointed as she wanted to see Steve's face on that ride. So instead she took him to E. T., Shrek 4-D, Jimmy Neutron, Twister, Terminator, the Mummy and the one newer ride that replaced Earthquake. They walked through shops, Gwen forcing Steve into every single one that had chocolate in it.

Gwen explained everything to her husband as best as she could for each ride. She knew it had to be hard for him as he probably knew very little about each area.

It was about six o'clock by the time they left the park. Gwen drove them to a restaurant to have some dinner before heading back to the hotel for the rest of the night.

"How'd you like it?" asked Gwen as they entered their room and closed the door.

"It was pretty fun," answered Steve.

He came over and wrapped her in his arms after she had thrown her bag on the couch. He planted a kiss on her lips and Gwen was suddenly wishing she hadn't sweat as much as she had that day.

* * *

The next day was spent Epcot. Gwen was also going to use this to her advantage in hopes of teaching Steve some things that happened after he was frozen. Like always, Gwen drove. They went in the right direction once on Disney grounds and parked the car. After a nice walk in that made Gwen's feet even more sore than they were before, they got to the park. The big ball sat before them and Steve tilted his head back to look at it as they walked past.

"Is that a...ride?" he asked once they passed the line.

"Yeah, it's inside," replied Gwen. "It goes up and down."

"That sounds terrifying."

"It's not really. Actually, it can be a bit relaxing."

Steve raised his eyebrows but said nothing more.

The first thing the couple did was go to the building that had all different cokes from the different countries. It was one of Gwen's favorite things about the park. She then took him to the one building that had the Soarin' ride. She had actually only been on it once, but it had been amazing to her. She made sure they got fast passes for it and hung around the building until it was their turn.

After the ride, which Steve seemed to actually enjoy until he must've thought about something, perhaps to do with falling from a tall height, and then became slightly crabby.

"Is everything okay?" asked Gwen with concern as they started making their way towards the different countries.

"I'm fine," he answered a bit stiffly.

"Please don't lie to me, Steve."

He sighed, moving his hand from hers to around her waist and then pulled her close.

"I had a friend fall in the war. That's all."

"Oh, Steve, I'm so sorry. If I had known-"

"No, you didn't know. There's nothing to be sorry about."

He kissed the top of her head as they continued on.

The most interesting part of the day had to be in the America section. Needless to say there were people dressed in colonial wear and walking around, but what Gwen and Steve hadn't been expecting was to see someone dressed as Captain America. Gwen actually nearly spit out her drink at the sight and Steve seemed to be unsure as to how to react.

"Hold on a sec," said Gwen, fumbling with her satchel.

"Please don't tell me you want a picture," begged Steve.

"No, I'm giving Tony a video call."

She held up her phone after dialing and watched as Tony's face appeared on the phone.

"Hey, buttercup," he greeted.

"Tony, look what we found."

She then turned the phone around so he could see and then turned him back around again.

When she looked back at the screen, Tony was laughing. She was pretty sure she heard Bruce and Hank in the background telling him to shut up.

"Was his shield made in China?" asked Tony between laughs.

"Very funny, Tony," mumbled Steve.

After ending the phone call, they continued on through the countries. Gwen always enjoyed the England part mainly because she had always wanted to be British when she was younger mainly because she wanted their accent. Or at least one people could understand.

At the end of the day, Gwen and Steve went in the ride in the big ball and after all of these years she still couldn't remember what the ride's proper name was. After that, they found a spot where they could sit and wait for the fireworks.

"You're having a good time, right?" asked Gwen.

Steve smiled. "As long as I'm with you I'm always having a good time."

"God, stop being perfect."

Steve laughed as he slung an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him, relieving her feet of their hard work.

* * *

Gwen was incredibly exhausted the next day from staying up so late. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing that the two had a late start as they were simply going back to Islands of Adventure. And it certainly didn't hurt to snuggle up next to Steve before forcing herself to get up.

The day went by quickly. They spent most of it at Harry's world and the ventured to other areas. Gwen had made reservations to eat at Hard Rock Cafe. She loved it there and knew it would probably freak Steve out which she was finding rather fun. However, she knew that the last thing they'd be doing before leaving was watching a performance of Blue Man Group. Gwen absolutely loved that show and was uncontrollably excited to watch it again.

At the appropriate time, the two headed over to the Universal and followed the signs that lead them to the entrance.

Steve's reaction to seeing three men with blue faces was priceless. Gwen knew that Tony would've killed to see it.

After the show, which was as fantastic as always, the two headed back to the hotel for their second last night of their honeymoon.

Gwen had saved Magic Kingdom for their last day. It was obviously he most memorable of all Disney parks and she knew Steve might be able to relate to it better than the others.

Gwen smiled like a little girl as they walked down Main Street an towards Cinderella's castle. It still didn't fail to make her feel all happy inside.

She of course took Steve on the great rides including Pirates of the Caribbean, Gwen enjoying the Johnny Depp animatronics, Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, the Hall of Presidents, which was simply for Steve's sake, Small World, which Steve very obviously hated but Gwen still loved, Peter Pan's Flight, which still freaked Gwen out and many other attractions.

It rained this day as well and although Gwen didn't bring ponchos, she had brought a nice big umbrella that the two shared and were then able to walk through the park while everyone else hid in stores to avoid getting soaked.

By the end of the day, Gwen and Steve were on Main Street for the fireworks show. After it was over, the two headed back to the hotel and began packing their suitcases for their departure the next day.

"I can't believe it's over," admitted Gwen as she re-folded her clothes.

"We can always come back," suggested Steve.

"Not for a while. With everything going on, I'm surprised we were allowed to go this time."

Steve shrugged. "Maybe when it's all over with."

"Maybe."

* * *

The next day Gwen and Steve got up and got ready quickly. Steve got their suitcases down to the car while Gwen checked them out of the hotel. They drove back to the airport and left the car in the designated area. They wheeled their luggage into the airport and checked it in. This left the two of them to walk through security and then to their gate.

It felt like hours before they finally started boarding the flight and Gwen got the window seat this time. She had given Steve the Harry Potter book again which he got lost in while Gwen watched The Dark Knight Rises on her iPod.

Before they knew it, the plane landed and the couple got off. The New York air hit Gwen in the face and she sighed. It was back to dealing with Tony and Fury and all of the others everyday. Not that she hated it, she just really enjoyed the relaxation the honeymoon gave her.

Steve took her hand as they headed for baggage claim. They acquired their suitcases and went to go get their car. Gwen called Tony and Pepper as they drove home to inform them that they survived the plane ride.

Once home, Steve took their suitcases in as Gwen began writing down what they'd need to get at the store. She honestly felt like her mother always had.

"I had fun," said Steve as he came over to wrap Gwen up on his arms.

"I did, too," she replied.

"I love you, Gwen."

"I love you, too."

And Gwen realized that they didn't need a honeymoon to have fun. They just needed each other.

* * *

**Good Lord this took me forever to write. I hope you enjoyed it even though I didn't haha. I don't like writing one chapter for three days.**


	34. Epilogue

**So my mom and I stayed up till 1:30 watching the Hunger Games on our computer while everyone else was in line. Thank God for digital copies. We still cried like a baby though...**

**torixx3: It is seriously the best place on earth. I wanna live there so bad. **

**Arrows the Wolf: Thank you! I was worried te descriptions would be horrible Haha. **

**12141998: Thanks! I seriously couldn't help myself. **

**Itsgoose2u: It was fun to write at first but after a while I was like PLEASE BE DONE ALREADY. **

**The Red Dove: I think I know which cafe you're talking about. I actually always eat at Mel's like Gwen haha. **

**Silvertail of shoreclan: I haven't actually seen it hah**

**WillowDamon17: All I could think about was Tom when I wrote that part haha. Thanks!**

**LianaDare8: That sucks! We went on it three times and didn't have that happen. Though I thought I was hon a die a few times haha. Gwen has that movie because this takes place next year technically. Let me tell you that I'm actually working on this marvel/dc comics crossover that should be fun :D**

**Duchess of Lantern Waste: It certainly is! I was thoroughly impressed by it. **

**Phantom-Demon: Orlando parks are the BEST. I love it there. **

* * *

**Epilogue**

The lab was quiet as Amora chanted several Celtic phrases that together would get what AIM wanted.

"Is this going to work?" asked MODOK impatiently.

Amora scowled. "If you keep interrupting, it will not."

"Diva..." muttered MODOK.

He floated away from where she stood, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration. Her lips barely moved as she restarted her spell. He could see her brow furrow a couple of times as she continued before she moved out her hands and did particular movements with them. It was like she was doing some choreographed dance.

Out of nowhere, the air ripped in front of her like a page in a book. Amora opened her eyes and slid her hands over this tear in space. It opened and formed a circle in front of her.

"Is he out there?" asked MODOK, going back over to her.

"I'm the best at making portals," answered the Enchantress. "Trust me, he is there."

She moved out of the way as MODOK took a look into the portal. Withe excitement he called an announcement through the facility to get some medical aid into the lab ASAP.

Once the head AIM doctors and scientists arrived, Amora went back to stare at the portal. She seemed to be calling him to her by magic. MODOK understood none of it, but he didn't really care. She was getting him what AIM had been missing for almost seventy years. It's proper and true leader. There was no time for complaints.

"He is all yours," stated Amora.

A doctor pushed a stretcher up to the portal and two agents went over. MODOK watched as they reached in and pulled out a man. A man everyone thought to be dead but had been stuck in suspended animation all this time.

"Gentlemen," said MODOK as the man was laid on the stretcher, "this is what AIM has been waiting for."

And in that moment, Red Skull returned to the world.

* * *

**Okay guys that's it for this installment. Obviously it isn't the last one.**

**First of all, I would like to thank you all for favoriting, reviewing and alerting this story. Actually, thank you all for simply reading this story. It truly means a lot to me.**

**Second, the next installment is called "Complications." I will post an AN when the first chapter is posted. It will include Red Skull being Red Skull, Gwen and Peter becoming a team of investigators and new characters.**

**Lastly, I hope to see you all there!**


	35. Complications

**The first chapter of "Complications" is now up! I hope to see you all there!**


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